Anhydrite with Calcite

specimen number:
2292151

location:
Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico

description:
Classic cluster of blue bladed anhydrite crystals, scalenohedral colorless crystals of calcite scattered throughout. In good condition.

The Naica mining district, located in Saucillo Municipality, Chihuahua, Mexico, is a world-renowned lead, zinc, and silver deposit famous for its giant selenite gypsum crystals. Geologically, the deposit is a carbonate replacement and skarn-type system hosted within thick sequences of Cretaceous Aurora Limestone. Mineralization was driven by Tertiary-aged dacitic intrusions that channeled high-temperature, metal-rich hydrothermal fluids through localized fault systems and fractures, dissolving the limestone and replacing it with massive base metal sulfides, while cooler, calcium-sulfate-rich waters later filled deep structural cavities to form enormous gypsum crystals. Commercial underground mining operations began around 1794 following the discovery of surface silver veins, expanding significantly in 1900 with the establishment of the Compania Minera de Naica. Large-scale corporate operations, managed for decades by Grupo Penoles, processed thousands of tons of ore daily until 2015, when a catastrophic underground flooding event breached a major aquifer, forcing an indefinite suspension of primary ore extraction and mine closure.

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