Scorodite (classic material)

Item Description

There are a few places in the world that have produced truly iconic specimens of Scorodite. The old pieces from the Ojuela Mine in Mexico are certainly in the upper tier for the species in terms of color and quality. This piece is a beautiful small cabinet loaded with dozens of sharp, lustrous, well-formed crystals that measure about 2 mm and range in color from a reddish-brown hue to a silvery-blue shade, sitting on matrix. If you flip the piece over, you'll see there are more Scorodites on the back, which are darker, some are nearly black and opaque, while others have a deep greenish-blue metallic hue. The crystals are best seen up close with magnification and we've photographed them with a Canon MP-E 65 mm macro lens to show their quality. Most of the crystals are undamaged, but there is a bit of roughness in a few spots. A very attractive and rich specimen of this classic and elusive material from a few decades ago.
From the collection of Colorado mining legend, Dave Bergman. Dave is now retired, but among other things, he was the foreman and primary person in charge of recovering specimens at the famous Sweet Home Mine near Alma, Colorado during the late 1970s. He is also the maternal grandfather of Brian Kosnar. See Dave's photo mining at the Sweet Home on page 58 of Peter Bancroft's book "Gem and Crystal Treasures".