Acanthite with Polybasite, Calcite

specimen number:
9302381

location:
Fresnillo, Zacatecas, Mexico

description:
Metallic crystallized acanthite up on a calcite crystal matrix with thin platy crystals of polybasite. In great condition all around.

Fresnillo, located in Zacatecas, Mexico, is one of the oldest and most prolific silver mining districts in the world. Mining operations in the area officially began around 1554 following its discovery by Spanish explorers, and the district has operated nearly continuously for almost five decades over five centuries, remaining a major global silver producer today. Geologically, the deposit is hosted within a complex sequence of Mesozoic sedimentary and volcanic rocks that have been intruded by Tertiary-age felsic to intermediate stocks and dikes. The mineralization primarily occurs as epithermal vein systems and skarn-replacement bodies, where silver, lead, and zinc-rich hydrothermal fluids interacted with reactive carbonate host rocks and fault structures.

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