Calcite on Galena

specimen number:
9892050

location:
Sweetwater Mine, Viburnum Trend, Reynolds Co., Missouri, USA

description:
Colorless gemmy prismatic crystals of calcite to 1.0 cm in size across a loose cluster of cube octahedral crystals of galena. In good condition all around with no points of attachment. Chalcopyrite present also.

The Sweetwater Mine, situated on the southern end of the Viburnum Trend in Reynolds County, Missouri, opened in the late 1960s as part of the expansion of the Southeast Missouri Lead District. Geologically, the deposit is a classic Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) ore body hosted within the porous platform carbonates of the Upper Cambrian Bonneterre Dolomite. Mineralization primarily consists of galena, sphalerite, and chalcopyrite, accompanied by prominent gangue minerals such as spectacular scalenohedral calcite and pyrite. While several historic mines in the district have wound down operations over the decades, the Sweetwater Mine has remained an active and vital part of regional production under modern operators.

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