Vanadinite on Calcite (Rob Sielecki Coll.)

Item Description

Vanadinite is the signature mineral species from this well-known extinct lead-silver Chihuahua mine. Lustrous, translucent, textbook hexagonal prisms, to 6 mm, are aesthetically scattered on the undulating matrix covered with contrasting, scintillating tiny, gemmy calcite rhombs. The vannies are brown to golden-yellow with some having stylish hoppered terminations. The San Carlos Mine was active in the late 1800s, with serious mining taking place from the 1930s to 1952. Very fine vanadinites and rare wulfenites were collected in the 1960s and 70s, with none since. See the excellent article on the San Carlos Mine in the November-December, 2008 Mineralogical Record, Vol. 39, No. 6. A fine combination specimen from the Rob Sielecki Collection. Seldom on the market today.