Danburite

specimen number:
2312039

location:
Charcas, San Luis Potosi, Mexico

description:
A cluster of prismatic semi lustrous slightly translucent danburite crystals. Minor calcite present. In good condition.

The mining district of Charcas in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, has a long history of metal extraction that began with the discovery of rich silver and base metal veins in the late sixteenth century. Geologically, the area is characterized by polymetallic skarn, manto, and vein deposits hosted in carbonate rocks, formed through hydrothermal activity associated with intrusive igneous activity. While historically worked primarily for lead, zinc, copper, and silver, the underground mines and stopes, such as the Aurora mine, have also become famous among mineral collectors. Hydrothermal fluids moving through the reactive limestone and skarn environments deposited a variety of unusual boron-bearing and silicate minerals, most notably producing transparent, prismatic crystals of the calcium borosilicate mineral danburite, frequently associated with calcite and quartz.

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