Pyrargyrite

specimen number:
8911175

location:
Uchucchacua Mine, Oyon, Lima, Peru

description:
A bright lustrous solid mass of pyrargyrite. The specimen comes with a previous label from the Alton collection.

Situated in the high Andes of the Oyon Province in Peru, the Uchucchacua Mine is a world-renowned underground deposit formed by hydrothermal skarn and replacement processes where intrusive igneous rocks interacted with Cretaceous limestones. Commercial mining began in the mid-twentieth century under the operation of Compania de Minas Buenaventura, developing the site into one of the richest silver-producing underground mines in South America. Alongside its major industrial production of silver, manganese, lead, and zinc, the mine gained legendary status among mineral collectors for producing some of the world's finest mineral specimens. Uchucchacua is particularly famous for vibrant pink to deep red rhodochrosite crystals, sharp alabandite, lustrous manganese-bearing fluorite, and rare silver sulfosalts, making specimens from this high-altitude locality prized centerpieces in private and museum collections globally.

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