Valentinite (2011 find)

Item Description

From a find in the summer of 2011, this is one of the best discoveries of Valentinite ever made at the famous San Jose mine in Bolivia. Over the last decade or so, this mine has produced the finest Andorite crystals extant, the finest known crystals of Potosiite, and some of the most impressive large twinned Stannite ever seen just to name a few of its merits. For centuries, the San Jose mine has been producing minerals (mostly Silver for the the Spanish which dates as far back as the year 1595 and was mined by Incan Indians for several centuries prior), but in the 20th Century, it yielded some of the finest crystallized Valentinites in the world. Nearly 10 years ago, the only Valentinites to come out of Bolivia were those from Colavi, but they don't stand up to the finest ones from San Jose. As of right now, we can say that this most recent discovery of Valentinite is not only noteworty, but impressive for the mine and species. This particular piece is a good example of this rare Antimony Oxide (Pronounced: Vah-LEN-tin-ite). It features a few somewhat chatoyant, semi lustrous, silvery colored prismatic crystals (included with Galena) which are sitting on Pyrite matrix. The largest crystal, measures 8 mm which is good sized for the material, and this is a rare mineral so good crystallized examples are not common. A great chance to have a matrix specimen of a very hard to find mineral from one of the most notable localities in Bolivia. Species collectors out there should jump on this one, but worldwide collectors should not pass it up either.