Sphalerite (twins) with Calcite (Manganese-bearing)

Item Description

A choice and eye-catching display specimen of this beautiful material from the Casapalca Mine in Peru featuring a few very sharp, well-formed, lustrous, metallic black Sphalerite crystals measuring up to 3.6 cm, associated with very pale pink colored manganese-bearing Calcite, and no matrix. The main crystal on the specimen is a beautiful "Spinel twin" with no major damage, save the back where the piece was separated from the pocket wall. These specimens are now much harder to find on the market than they were 20+ years ago, and the Sphalerites are among some of the best crystals of the species found in the modern era of mineral collecting.
From the worldwide mineral collection of geologist, Demetrius Pohl (#1527).