Fluorite

specimen number:
2063308

location:
Minerva Mine #1, Hardin Co., Illinois, USA

description:
A showy in very fine grouping of deep amber colored glassy gemmy cubic crystals of fluorite, the largest measuring to 3.5 cm on edge. These are set up on a small amount of matrix. Slight damage present to some of the crystals along the left side of the piece, this still in good condition overall. Very attractive. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark. A second label from well-known Ohio dealer (1970's) Ron L. Sohn comes with the specimen as well.

The Minerva Mine Number 1, located near Cave-in-Rock in Hardin County, Illinois, was a cornerstone of the historic Illinois-Kentucky fluorspar district. Discovered in 1940 and sinking its primary shaft in 1942, the mine operated intermittently until its final closure in 1996. Geologically, the deposit sits within Mississippian-age carbonate host rocks, where fluorine-bearing hydrothermal fluids migrated through regional faults and bedding-plane replacement zones to form rich ore bodies. Mineralogically, the mine achieved world-renowned status among collectors for producing spectacular specimens, most notably exceptionally sharp cubic and multi-colored fluorite crystals often associated with sphalerite, calcite, barite, strontianite, and witherite.

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