Ferberite with Quartz

specimen number:
1052610

location:
Baia Sprie, Maramures Co., Romania

description:

Lustrous black bladed crystals of ferberite to 0.4 cm in size across the top of a crystallized quartz matrix with minor calcite. Damage present as seen. A neat historical example for the species from this famous locality. The specimen comes with an antique label as shown at the end of the video. The label gives an acquisition date of 1911. Good ferberite specimens were never terribly common from this mining district.

Baia Sprie, historically known by the Hungarian name Felsobanya, is a premier mining district located in the Gutai Mountains of Maramures County, Romania. Geologically, the deposit is an epithermal polymetallic system hosted within Neogene volcanic rocks, where mineral-rich fluids deposited complex ores along massive, steeply dipping vein structures. The site is world-famous for its incredible mineral diversity, having produced exceptional specimens of stibnite, barite, and various silver-gold sulfides, as well as being the type locality for minerals like dietrichite and felsobanyaite. Historically, mining and quarrying activities in the region date back to at least the 14th century, with the town receiving its first royal mining privileges in 1329. Large-scale industrial operations flourished under the Austro-Hungarian Empire and continued through the 20th century under state control, with the main shaft reaching depths of over 1000 meters. While primary commercial mining activities ceased in the early 2000s due to the transition to a market economy and environmental restructuring, the district remains a legendary destination for mineralogical research.

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