Calcite

specimen number:
2312288

location:
Minerva Mine #1, Hardin Co., Illinois, USA

description:
A large cluster of crystallized calcite. Classic crystal habit for the species at this locality. Crystallized completely all around. Minor fluorite is present. Collected in 1992.

The Minerva Mine Number 1, located near Cave-in-Rock in Hardin County, Illinois, was a premier producer within the famous Illinois-Kentucky fluorspar district. Geologically, the mine exploited massive Mississippi Valley-type deposits, featuring extensive bedding-replacement orebodies and hydrothermal vein systems hosted in Paleozoic limestone. Hot mineral-rich fluids deposited large quantities of fluorite, sphalerite, calcite, and other prized minerals along structural faults and fractures. Historically, the deposit was discovered around 1940, with surface and underground facilities established in 1941. It operated under various owners—producing fluorspar, zinc, and lead—with active mining continuing intermittently until final closure in 1995.

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