Celestine

specimen number:
2013636

location:
Hanson Quarry, Sylvania, Ohio, USA

description:

Large thick blocky translucent lustrous pale blue crystals of Celestine measuring to 5.0 cm on edge staff nicely across the top of matrix with minor calcite. This is in really good condition. Fine large crystals for the species from this well-known locality.

The Hanson Quarry, also known as the Sylvania West Quarry or the Medusa South Quarry, is located in Sylvania, Lucas County, Ohio, and is a key industrial site within the Michigan Basin. Geologically, the quarry exposes a sequence of Middle Devonian rocks, including the Detroit River Group and the Dundee Limestone, which were deposited in a shallow marine environment roughly 390 million years ago. The locality is highly regarded by mineralogists for its exceptional crystals of celestine (celestite), which formed within vugs and solution cavities of the limestone. These crystals typically exhibit a tabular to prismatic habit and are prized for their transparency and delicate sky-blue to colorless appearance, often reaching several inches in length. Historically, the site has a complex ownership record, having been opened in the 1920s by the Sandusky Cement Company before being operated by the Medusa Cement Company in the 1950s and later acquired by the France Stone Company in the late 1970s. Currently operated by Hanson Aggregates Midwest, Inc., the quarry remains a primary producer of crushed stone and cement-grade limestone. While it is a major industrial facility, the Hanson Quarry is celebrated for the aesthetic quality of the celestine, calcite, and strontianite specimens recovered during its long history of operation.

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