Calcite

specimen number:
2292295

location:
Santa Eulalia, Chihuahua, Mexico

description:
Sharp scalenohedral crystals of calcite measuring to almost 4.0 cm in size across the top of matrix. In good condition with minimal cleaving present.

The Santa Eulalia mining district, located near Chihuahua City in Chihuahua, Mexico, is a historically massive carbonate-hosted polymetallic lead-zinc-silver deposit split into the East and West Camps. Geologically, the district is characterized by extensive, high-grade replacement ore bodies, including deep-seated vertical chimneys and horizontal mantos, formed within thick Cretaceous sedimentary limestone sequences that were intruded and fractured by Tertiary felsic dikes and hydrothermal fluids. The complex mineralization produced vast quantities of argentiferous galena and sphalerite alongside a diverse suite of silicate, carbonate, and sulfate minerals within open subterranean dissolution cavities. Organized mining began following the initial Spanish discovery around 1703, transforming the region into one of the prime historical silver silver-producing centers of the Spanish Empire and driving the founding of Chihuahua City. Large-scale industrial operations intensified in the early twentieth century under companies like the American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO), and while major commercial base-metal extraction largely wound down by the late 1990s, intermittent artisanal operations, leasing, and specialized specimen mining have continued to operate out of various shafts across the district.

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