Vivianite (classic locality)

Item Description

Some of the finest examples of Vivianite have been found in various tin mines in Bolivia over the years. In the early 1980s, the famed Morococala Mine actually produced some of the largest and most spectacular Vivianite crystals ever found in history. There were some legendary stories of incredibly large plates of Vivianite crystals just pouring out of the mine, but they only last for a brief period of time, as the mine manager decided that the miners were too distracted collecting Vivianite and not attending to their duties underground, so he decided to blow up the entire section of the mine where the Vivianite was being collected, thus greatly limiting the number of specimens that would make their way to the market. This piece is a good representative example from the "Vivianite Boom" at Morococala, and it features lustrous, sharp, prismatic dark blue-green color, layered crystals of Vivianite free of matrix. With strong backlighting, you can see some color to come through, but the piece is fairly dark most of the way through. These piece are no longer being mined and they are incredibly difficult to find on the market today.