Calcite

specimen number:
2013503

location:
Annabel Lee Mine, Hardin Co., Illinois, USA

description:
Collected in the mid 1980s, a superb plate with amber colored gemmy scalenohedral calcite crystals measuring to almost 10.0 cm in size aesthetic across the top of matrix. This is in excellent condition. Superb for the species for this locality.

The Annabel Lee Mine, located near Harris Creek in Hardin County, Illinois, was one of the last major underground mines to operate in the historic Illinois-Kentucky Fluorspar District. Developed by the Ozark-Mahoning Company, the mine began its initial shaft sinking in 1982 and officially commenced production in 1984. Geologically, the mine exploited high-grade, bedded replacement deposits within the Mississippian-aged limestones of the Cave-in-Rock sub-district. These ore bodies formed when fluorine-rich hydrothermal fluids moved upward along fault zones and spread laterally beneath impermeable shale capping rocks, replacing the carbonate host rock with fluorite. The Annabel Lee is legendary among mineral collectors for producing spectacular cubic fluorite crystals, often in shades of deep purple, lavender, and clear-to-amber bicolors, frequently associated with lustrous sphalerite and barite. The mine remained a prolific producer until 1995, when it closed alongside other regional operations due to intense competition from cheaper international fluorspar imports.

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