Sphalerite with Pyrite

Item Description

An attractive association specimen labeled as coming from Silverton, Colorado (possibly from the Sunnyside Mine, but the piece honestly looks like the material from the Idarado Mine, so it might even be from Silverton, but rather closer to Telluride. With that said, this small cabinet specimen features small lamellar or repeated twinned crystals of jet-black, very sharp, rather lustrous Sphalerite measuring up to 1.1 cm associated with minor metallic golden Pyrite and Quartz on matrix. Most of the Sphalerites are in good shape, though some of them are contacted in a few spots. Overall it's a lovely representation of these now elusive specimens from the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. From the worldwide collection of David Burgess (1951-2016) with a label from Sal Avella of Apple Valley Minerals in Smithfield, Rhode Island, along with a label from the Worcester Mineral Club. David was a prolific species collector from Newington, Connecticut, and the namesake for the extremely rare cobalt arsenate species Burgessite, which he discovered.