Calcite with Pyrite, Quartz, Chalcopyrite

specimen number:
2312304

location:
Droujba mine, Laki, Plovdiv, Bulgaria

description:
Rhombohedral crystals of calcite in groupings to 5.5 cm in size on matrix with crystallized pyrite, quartz, and chalcopyrite. Neat combination piece in very good condition.

The Droujba Mine is located in the Laki ore district within the Rhodope Mountains of the Plovdiv Province in southern Bulgaria. Geologically, the deposit sits within a complex metamorphic and magmatic terrane where hydrothermal vein systems cut through older crystalline basement rocks and carbonate sequences. The mineralogy of the mine is characterized by polymetallic sulfide ores accompanied by exceptional gangue mineral assemblages, most notably well-formed crystal specimens of calcite, quartz, and siderite, alongside base metal sulfides like galena and sphalerite. Industrial extraction in the Laki mining district intensified during the mid-twentieth century under state-run operations targeting lead, zinc, and other metals, though precise individual opening and closing dates for the Droujba workings are not widely documented in mainstream historical records.

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