Siderite on Arsenopyrite with Quartz

Item Description

A wonderful association specimen from this famous locality in Portugal featuring a group of superb, very well-formed, large, thick hexagonal crystals of golden-tan colored Siderite measuring 3.3 cm across, sitting atop metallic silvery-grey colored blocky crystals of Arsenopyrite, with a bit of associated colorless prismatic Quartz on one side. The Siderite group is in very good shape, with only one nick that I can see on the edge. The piece sits beautifully on its own without a base or clay. Typically, the Siderite crystals from Panasqueira are seen as association species, and are rarely the main focal point of specimens, so even though it's not a rare mineral, this is a fairly rare specimen featuring Siderite as the first species. Valued $750. From the collection of Richard ("Dick") Philip Hauck formerly of Bloomfield, New Jersey and now a resident of Franklin, New Jersey. Dick is an avid collector of minerals, books, and mining memorabilia, along with being an accomplished author in the mineral world. Arguably, his greatest claim to fame is being the co-founder of the Sterling Hill Mining Museum in Ogdensburg, NJ. Dick purchased the land on which the Sterling Hill Mine resides in 1988, and the museum has been running strong since.