Valentinite (New Find!)

Item Description

From a brand new find in the summer of 2011, this is one of the best disoveries 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 sharp, good quality, lustrous, somewhat resinous, silvery to straw color (the termination of the biggest crystal hasthe distinctive golden hue that is best known in San Jose Valentinites), prismatic crystals which are associated with massive grey Galena and Pyrite on matrix. The largest crystal, which measures 12 mm is in fairly good shape, is translucent when backlit, and aesthetically sitting on the matrix. The fact that the largest crystal is over a full centimeter is great size for this locality and the species. I even photographed some of the really small crystals under the microscope to better illustrate their quality. 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 this one up either. We have precious few of these pieces to offer at the moment, and most will end up being offered for sale (and most likley sold) at the Denver Show, but we are hoping through our contacts to have more specimens in the coming weeks/months. Valued at $650 retail.