Calcite with Pyrite

specimen number:
2312010

location:
Bor Mine, Dal'negorsk, Primorskiy Kray, Russia

description:
Sharp rhombohedral crystals of colorless calcite measuring to 3.0 cm in size across the top of a crystallized quartz breccia matrix. Attractive iridescent pyrite crystals are scattered throughout. Fluorescent under longwave ultraviolet light. In great condition.

The Bor deposit, located in Dalnegorsk within the Primorsky Krai of the Russian Far East, is situated in the Sikhote-Alin orogenic belt. The geology of the district is defined by complex skarn systems formed through the interaction of intrusive magmatic bodies with sedimentary carbonate rocks, specifically involving the replacement of limestone by boron-rich and polymetallic mineral assemblages. While lead and zinc mining in the area began in the late nineteenth century under initial expeditions and the Tetyukhe mining enterprise, the specific borosilicate deposit operated by the Dalnegorsk mining and chemical combine was discovered in the 1940s and put into commercial operation in the 1950s. It developed into one of the largest boron deposits in the world, renowned among geologists and mineral collectors for producing massive datolite and danburite ores, alongside striking crystal clusters of calcite, quartz, and various skarn minerals.

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