Danburite with Quartz

specimen number:
2292274

location:
Charcas, San Luis Potosi, Mexico

description:

A cluster of lustrous prismatic slightly translucent danburite crystals. Some of these crystals measure to 4.0 cm in length. Minimal damage present, still in good condition. Sparkling colorless crystals of quartz are present throughout.

The Charcas mining district, located in the northern region of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, is a prominent mineral locality renowned for complex lead-zinc-silver ores and well-crystallized specimens of danburite, calcite, and datolite. Geologically, the area features a major skarn and hydrothermal replacement deposit formed where Tertiary granodiorite and dacite stocks intruded thick Mesozoic carbonate sedimentary formations, specifically the Zuloaga and Taraises limestones. This intense thermal and chemical activity induced widespread metasomatism, creating extensive mineralized bodies and large vugs filled with specialized silicate, carbonate, and sulfide minerals. Silver mining at Charcas began exceptionally early, with Spanish explorers discovering the deposits around 1573 and establishing formal operations shortly thereafter. The district transitioned to large-scale underground industrial mining in the early twentieth century under companies like ASARCO and eventually Industrial Minera Mexico (IMMSA), remaining continuously active for over four centuries to supply zinc, lead, and silver alongside fine mineral specimens well into the 2020s.

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