Wulfenite (classic material) (ex Al Kidwell Collection)

Item Description

A beautiful specimen from this old lead-zinc mine in Bleiberg, Austria which closed in the late 1980s. Specimens from this locality can be found collections around the world, and this piece is one of the better Wulfenites we've had to offer from the Stefanie Mine in recent years. My favorite aspect of the Wulfenites from this mine is the wide range of habits, featuring crystals that are thin and tabular (reminiscent of those from Arizona), up to thicker blocky crystals like those from the Los Lamentos area in Mexico. This piece features the latter habit with robust, sharp, lustrous, attractive orange colored crystals measuring up to 1.1 cm long, sitting on heavy matrix. Most of the crystals are in good condition, though there are a few rough spots here and there. From the worldwide mineral collection of Albert Lewis Kidwell (January 1, 1919 - August 16, 2008). Al was a well-known mineral collector and research geologist with Carter Oil Company and later Exxon Oil Company in Houston, Texas. The phosphate species Kidwellite was named in his honor in 1974.