Hemimorphite

specimen number:
2262339

location:
La Bocona Mine, Guadalupe Victoria, Durango, Mexico

description:
Beautiful blue lustrous botryoidal crystallized hemimorphite on matrix. This is in good condition. Classic old Mexican material. The specimen comes with a previous label as shown at the end of the video.

The La Bocona mine (often referred to as Mina La Bocona), situated on the eastern flanks of the Cerro las Minitas mountain within the Guadalupe Victoria Municipality of Durango, Mexico, is a notable historical and modern producer of silver, lead, and zinc, internationally recognized by mineralogists for producing distinctive botryoidal masses of sky-blue hemimorphite. Geologically, the deposit is located within the prolific Faja de Plata (Mexican Silver Belt) and represents a classic intrusive-centered zinc skarn and Carbonate Replacement Deposit (CRD). Mineralization formed when a central monzonite intrusive stock and associated felsic dikes injected metal-rich, high-temperature hydrothermal fluids into ancient Cretaceous-age sedimentary limestones, inducing intense contact metasomatism that recrystallized the host rocks into marble and garnet-wollastonite skarnoid assemblages. This process deposited heavy lenses and vertical chimneys of massive polymetallic sulfides, including galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, and pyrite, while near-surface supergene oxidation down to depths of 200 meters transformed primary zinc phases into secondary zinc silicates like hemimorphite. Historically, localized artisanal surface quarrying and shallow underground pocket mining began intermittently in the mid-to-late nineteenth century, with operations expanding significantly in the late 1970s when miners broke into near-surface oxide stopes that yielded the famous blue hemimorphite specimens. Following decades of sporadic small-scale extraction that extended down to a depth of 220 meters, modern systematic corporate exploration and extensive diamond core drilling were initiated by Southern Silver Exploration Corporation in 2011, culminating in the delineation of deep, high-grade polymetallic sulfide extensions and manto-style silver zones that continue to undergo active corporate resource development, engineering evaluation, and geological modeling through 2026.

Lawrence Conklin was a world-renowned mineral dealer based in New York City, widely regarded as one of the most knowledgeable and sophisticated figures in the history of the mineral trade. Operating from his office on 5th Avenue and later from his home in Connecticut, Conklin specialized in "antique" minerals and specimens with significant historical provenance. He was a meticulous researcher and an elegant writer, often publishing articles that corrected historical errors in mineralogical literature. His career spanned over five decades, during which he handled some of the finest known specimens from classic European and American localities, setting a high standard for aesthetic quality and documentation in the field.

Helen Snyder was a prominent American gemologist, mineral dealer, and collector who actively operated a specialized gem and mineral business in Manhattan, New York, during the mid-to-late twentieth century, including the 1960s era. Known for her deep expertise in mineralogy and gemology, she curated a diverse inventory of high-quality mineral specimens, crystals, and lapidary materials, serving as an important fixture in the New York metropolitan mineral-collecting community. Through her retail operations and personal mineralogical pursuits, Snyder fostered a strong network among regional hobbyists, educational institutions, and advanced collectors, frequently procuring and distributing notable geological specimens from domestic and international localities. Her legacy in the mineralogical community is preserved through documented historic specimens and significant personal collections that she influenced or gifted, including historic components that were subsequently donated by regional collectors to prominent academic institutions such as the Rutgers Geology Museum.

Questions about this specimen?
Send an email or call us: 314-341-1811.