Getchellite

specimen number:
2072018

location:
Getchell Mine, Humboldt Co., Nevada, USA

description:
Deep red micaceous getchellite embedded throughout matrix with orpiment. In very good example for the species.

Getchellite is a rare arsenic antimony sulfide mineral that was first described from the Getchell Mine in Humboldt County, Nevada, making it the type locality for the species. The Getchell Mine is part of the Getchell Trend, a major gold bearing region developed in the early to mid 20th century and later expanded into a large scale open pit and underground mining operation. The geology of the deposit is characterized by Carlin type mineralization hosted in sedimentary rocks, where hydrothermal fluids introduced gold and associated elements into permeable zones. In addition to its economic importance as a gold producer, the mine has yielded a variety of unusual minerals, including getchellite, which occurs as orange to reddish masses and crystalline aggregates in the oxidized and transitional zones of the deposit. The occurrence of getchellite reflects the complex geochemical conditions present during mineralization and alteration within this well studied Nevada mining district.

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