Fluorite with Barite

specimen number:
2312286

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

description:
A beautiful cluster of gemmy blue cubic fluorite crystals, this accented attractively with tabular crystals of colorless barite. The piece is in super condition. Gorgeous when backlit as seen in the picture. Naturally crystallized all around. This was collected in December, 1990. Previous collection of Ross Lillie, his number RCL0688.

The Minerva Mine Number 1, located near Cave-in-Rock in Hardin County, Illinois, was a premier producer within the famous Illinois-Kentucky fluorspar district. Geologically, the mine exploited massive Mississippi Valley-type deposits, featuring extensive bedding-replacement orebodies and hydrothermal vein systems hosted in Paleozoic limestone. Hot mineral-rich fluids deposited large quantities of fluorite, sphalerite, calcite, and other prized minerals along structural faults and fractures. Historically, the deposit was discovered around 1940, with surface and underground facilities established in 1941. It operated under various owners—producing fluorspar, zinc, and lead—with active mining continuing intermittently until final closure in 1995.

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