Sulfur and Calcite drill core

Item Description

The dramatic, sculptural, 6.0 x 4.5 cm vug in this section of a 5 inch in diameter rotary drill core is lined with sparkly, small dogtooth calcite and dramatically highlighted by the centrally placed 1.1 cm on edge, lustrous, translucent, lemon-yellow tabular sulfur crystal. Smaller vugs add character to the piece. The core is predominately Jurassic-aged limestone with darker xenoliths of country rock. The well-known large Boling Dome, southwest of Houston, is a shallow salt dome (about 500 feet below the surface) that has produced oil, gas, sulfur, salt and other minerals. Oil production began in 1925 and sulfur production began in 1929. The sulfur mine closed in 1993. The limestone is the caprock above the sulfur deposit. Crystallized sulfur is uncommon from here, as the mining company dissolved the sulfur with superheated water and used compressed air to extract the sulfur to the surface. Read more about this impressive salt dome at: https://www.mindat.org/loc-30972.html. 1774 grams of 3.9 pounds mass. Ex Al Kidwell Collection and obtained in 1970. Rarely seen on the specimen markets, because oil execs in Texas kept them for their homes and for gifts!