Galena with Quartz

specimen number:
9892207

location:
Buick Mine, Viburnum Trend, Iron Co., Missouri, USA

description:
A cluster of bright lustrous sharp cubic crystals of galena with very little attached matrix. Small colorless crystals of quartz are present. In great condition.

The Buick Mine, situated within the world-famous Viburnum Trend in Iron County, Missouri, sits atop the southeastern margin of the Ozark Dome in a premier lead-zinc mining district. Discovered in the mid-20th century during heavy industrial exploration of the Southeast Missouri Lead District, the underground mine extracts rich ore bodies hosted within the Cambrian-age Bonneterre Formation dolomite. Ore mineralization occurred when ancient, metal-bearing hydrothermal fluids migrated through porous sedimentary rock and brecciated reef structures, depositing massive galena, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and associated sulfide minerals alongside beautiful quartz and calcite crystals. Beyond its major economic production of industrial metals, the Buick Mine became celebrated among mineral collectors worldwide for producing spectacular mineral specimens, particularly lustrous galena crystals, irridescent chalcopyrite, and distinctive calcite formations before large-scale operations in the area shifted ownership and modified production focus over time.

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