Galena with Quartz

specimen number:
2312268

location:
Level 450-550, Block 22, Krushev dol Mine, Madan, Smolyan, Bulgaria

description:
Large lustrous thin flattened penetration twinned crystals of galena forming a cluster and hosting large colorless crystals of quartz. In great condition. A very fine example for this type of twinning for the species. Note that these are often erroneously referred to as spinel law twins.

The Krushev Dol mine, located in the Madan ore field of the Rhodope Mountains in southern Bulgaria, is part of a mining region with an ancient history of extraction dating back to the 4th to 5th centuries BC. Modern industrial-scale underground mining in the district developed heavily through the 20th century under state and joint-stock operations, continuing into modern times. Geologically, the deposit is situated within the Central Rhodope Dome, consisting of high-grade metamorphic rocks and marble cut by hydrothermal vein systems. The ore bodies formed via Eocene to Oligocene hydrothermal activity, producing rich polymetallic mineralization consisting primarily of lead, zinc, and copper sulfides hosted within steep fault zones and carbonate-rich rocks.

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