Sphalerite (classic material)

Item Description

The famous Elmwood Mine in Tennessee is well-known for a handful of mineral species, namely Calcite and Fluorite, but the fine quality Sphalerites from this mine are somewhat overlooked. The best of these specimens featuring gorgeous crystals with deep reddish-brown color, often referred to as "Ruby Jack". This piece features a wonderful group of sharp, highly lustrous crystals with decent internal gemminess when backlit, showing that rich almost umber hue, along with additional minor Sphalerite crystals, sitting on a matrix coated by tiny white Dolomite rhombs. The Sphalerite group measures 4.7 cm at its longest dimension, and is crystallized on all sides, with no major damage that I can find. It's certainly a fine quality Sphalerite, very displayable, and would make a great addition to a collection of worldwide Sphalerites or minerals from the Elmwood Mine. Valued $1,500.
From the collection of Armon McPherson, a retired physicist, now living in New Mexico. Armon received his PhD from North Carolina State University in 1985, and worked at the laser laboratory at the University of Illinois at Circle Center. In the summer of 1997, Armon moved to the Argonne National Laboratory where he worked at the Advanced Photon Source, then the world’s largest synchrotron facility dedicated as an x-ray source. In 2001, he was asked to join a team at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque to conduct laser research for DARPA. Finally, staying within Sandia, he transferred to the Z Facility, the world’s most powerful x-ray facility. He retired in the spring of 2017. Armon's introduction to mineral collecting came in the 1980s during graduate school when he attended his first mineral show. He took up the hobby of faceting gems, and focused his early collection on gem crystals, and later transitioned into collecting non-gem species. We are proud to offer specimens from his worldwide mineral collection here for you.