Celestine with Sulfur

specimen number:
1052644

location:
Giona Mine, Milena, Caltanissetta, Sicily, Italy

description:
Sparkling prismatic colorless mostly gemmy crystals of Celestine to 1.5 cm in size across the top of matrix with bright yellow crystallized native sulfur. In good condition throughout. Brightly fluorescent. Wonderful old time Sicilian specimen that comes with an antique label as shown at the end of the video. This label has an original acquisition date of 1909.

The Giona Mine, located in the province of Enna near the town of Agira, Sicily, is a historic site within the world-renowned Sicilian sulfur-bearing formation known as the Gessoso-Solfifera. Geologically, the deposit originated during the Messinian salinity crisis of the late Miocene, when the Mediterranean Sea underwent massive evaporation, leading to the precipitation of thick layers of gypsum, anhydrite, and limestone. The sulfur at Giona formed through the biochemical reduction of these sulfate minerals in the presence of hydrocarbons and anaerobic bacteria. Historically, the Giona Mine was an active participant in the Sicilian sulfur boom of the 19th and early 20th centuries, with records of extraction and quarrying operations dating back to the early 1800s. The site utilized the Gill kiln and later the Calcarone method for smelting ore, reaching peak productivity between 1860 and 1910 when Sicily provided the majority of the global sulfur supply. Commercial operations eventually declined due to the competition from the Frasch process in the United States, leading to the gradual closure of the mine by the mid-20th century.

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