Fluorite

specimen number:
9506829

location:
Shangbao Mine, Hunan, China

description:

A grouping of glassy gem fluorite crystals 4.5 cm across set perfectly on a crystalline quartz matrix. This is in good condition. Classic crystal habit for the species from this famous Chinese locality.

The Shangbao Mine, located in Leiyang, Hunan Province, China, originated as a base-metal and pyrite extraction site that later transitioned into a renowned source of world-class mineral specimens. While exact formal opening and closing dates for the original commercial operations are not widely documented, large-scale and specimen-mining activities intensified significantly around the mid-1990s, with commercial extraction largely slowing down and winding into a defunct or dormant status by the early 2000s alongside sporadic local specimen recovery. Geologically, the deposit is hosted within sedimentary and metamorphic rock sequences featuring complex hydrothermal veins. These structures have produced exceptional hydrothermal mineral assemblages, most notably highly prized, sharp cubic fluorite crystals exhibiting striking color zoning and clarity, accompanied by quartz, pyrite, calcite, and dolomite.

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