Sphalerite on Dolomite with Chalcopyrite

Item Description

A beautiful small cabinet sized display piece of from famous old Tri-State mining district. This piece features a signature combination piece with dramatic visual appeal. The main focus is an eye-catching 2.7 cm, Sphalerite crystal, along with a couple smaller Sphalerites that sit impressively atop the pale pink rhombic Dolomite, dotted by tiny iridescent metallic Chalcopyrite on matrix. It's not terribly common to find showy pieces of this material on the market these days, as they were mined a few decades ago. It's rare to find such a beautiful isolated Sphalerite group sitting so prominently atop the piece, and the aesthetics are fantastic as you can see. No damage, and a pretty piece of this classic material. This piece comes from the personal collection of Colorado mining legend, Dave Bergman, the maternal grandfather of Brian Kosnar. Dave is now retired from mining, but he worked for decades in various mines underground in Colorado, as a miner, mechanic, engineer, shift boss and foreman. His biggest claim to fame is that he was the foreman and the primary person in charge of mining and specimen recovery at the Sweet Home Mine in Colorado in the 1970s alongside his son-in-law, Rich Kosnar. This project what was the FIRST ever operation for specimen recovery at this historic locality. A full-page photograph of Dave can be seen mining underground at the Sweet Home in on page 58 of Peter Bancroft's book "Gem and Crystal Treasures".