Luzonite with Enargite

specimen number:
2262098

location:
Chinkuashih mine, Ruifang, New Taipei City, Taiwan

description:
Finally crystallized stalactite of metallic luzonite with minor enargite. In good condition, excellent for the species. From the early 1970s.

The Chinkuashih Mine, located in the Ruifang District of northern Taiwan, is a premier example of an epithermal gold-copper-antimony deposit. Geologically, the site is characterized by hydrothermal vein and breccia pipe mineralization hosted within Miocene sedimentary rocks and Dacite intrusions, formed during the Pleistocene epoch. The mine is a significant locality for luzonite, a rare copper arsenic sulfide mineral and a dimorph of enargite, which occurs there as massive, dark reddish-gray to black aggregates often associated with enargite and various copper-rich sulfides. Historically, mining and quarrying activities began in the late 1890s following the discovery of gold by railway workers and reached peak production during the Japanese colonial period in the 1930s. The district was once recognized as one of the largest gold mines in East Asia, but commercial operations eventually declined and officially ceased in 1987 due to depleting ore reserves and rising costs. Today, the site has been preserved as the Jinguashi Gold Museum park, serving as a major cultural and geological heritage site that continues to attract researchers and tourists through 2026.

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