Gypsum

specimen number:
1052911

location:
Hohenthalschacht, Eisleben, Mansfeld-Sudharz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

description:
Fine old timer from the early 20th century, a loose colorless gemmy crystal of gypsum. In great condition all around and set on a small amount of matrix.

Hohenthalschacht, historically known as Graf Hohenthal-Schacht and later renamed Hans-Seidel-Schacht, was a prominent mining shaft located in the Mansfeld copper-mining district near Eisleben, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Geologically, the area is set within the famed Kupferschiefer (copper shale) formation of the Permian Zechstein basin, where ancient marine sedimentary sequences host complex copper, silver, and associated base metal ores. While primarily sunk for deep copper ore extraction within the Mansfelder Land region, the Zechstein strata sequence also encompasses extensive evaporite deposits, including rich layers of anhydrite and gypsum. Although the shaft itself is celebrated historically for deep metal mining and occasional secondary mineral occurrences associated with ore-bearing veins, localized evaporite sections and cavity formations within the broader regional Zechstein framework historically yielded fine specimens of secondary minerals and crystalline phases linked to the complex chemical interactions of the mining environment.

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