Fluorite

specimen number:
8311523

location:
Xia Yang, Fujian, China

description:

A glassy gem quality crystal of fluorite set on matrix with quartz. Beautiful when backlit as seen in the picture and video.

The Xia Yang mine, located near Xia Yang city within Yongchun County of Quanzhou Prefecture in Fujian Province, China, is an underground mining operation known to the mineralogical community for producing diverse fluorite crystal forms, including modified cubes with complex, stepped, or etched face geometries often found on a quartz matrix. Geologically, this deposit is situated within the prolific metallogenic belts of southeastern China, where Mesozoic-age magmatic and volcanic activity driven by the Yanshanian tectonic cycle facilitated the circulation of low-temperature, fluorine-rich hydrothermal fluids through surrounding fault networks and sedimentary host structures. The resulting mineralization precipitated purple to deep blue fluorite crystals inside open veins and dissolution cavities, frequently exhibiting localized color zoning, phantom growth bands, and distinctive etched surface patterns alongside quartz and columnar or dogtooth calcite clusters. Historically, while regional exploration and small-scale quarrying for industrial limestone and basic commodities occurred across Quanzhou Prefecture during the mid-to-late twentieth century, more targeted underground extraction and subsequent specimen recovery at the Xia Yang workings accelerated significantly during the 2010s as international market demand for Chinese fluorite intensified. Through 2026, while commercial focus within the local district centers on broader industrial materials extraction, the underground shafts and associated workings continue to periodically produce distinct cubic and multi-faceted fluorite aggregates that serve as an informative regional reference for studying low-temperature hydrothermal vein deposition within the Cathaysian block.

Questions about this specimen?
Send an email or call us: 314-341-1811.