Galena with Pyrite

specimen number:
2102434

location:
Park City, Utah, USA

description:
Nice combination specimen from this important Utah locality. Non-lustrous crystals of galena measuring to 1.0 cm in size on a crystallized grouping of striated bright golden pyrite. In good condition.

The Park City mining district, located on the eastern slope of the Wasatch Mountains in Summit County, Utah, is a major historical silver, lead, and zinc deposit. Geologically, the district features a complex structural setting where Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary rocks, primarily limestones and quartzites, were folded, faulted, and subsequently intruded by Oligocene-aged granodiorite porphyry stocks. Mineralization occurs as both high-grade silver-bearing lead-zinc replacement bodies within the favorable limestone horizons and as steep, tabular fissure veins cutting across both sedimentary and igneous host rocks. Commercial mining began following the discovery of the Walker and Webster claim in 1869, which triggered a massive rush and led to the establishment of major producers like the Ontario, Silver King, and Judge mines. Underground extraction peaked between the 1890s and 1920s, sustained by massive drainage projects like the Ontario and Spiro tunnels, before declining due to falling metal prices and water management costs. Large-scale corporate operations under United Park City Mines gradually phased out industrial metal mining through the mid-twentieth century, with the final primary commercial ore extraction closing down in 1982 as the region successfully transitioned into a major winter resort destination.

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