Quartz with Albite, Spessartine

specimen number:
2133176

location:
Little Three Mine, San Diego Co., California, USA

description:
A grouping of glassy mostly gemmy smoky quartz crystals in a cluster with bladed white crystals of albite and minor micro spessartine. This is in good condition all around. Muscovite is present as well.

The Little Three Mine, located near Ramona in San Diego County, California, is a well known pegmatite locality that was first developed in the early 1900s during the region's gem mining boom. Mining focused on complex granitic pegmatites that produced a variety of valuable gem minerals, including tourmaline, kunzite, and spessartine garnet. The mine was worked intermittently by different operators over the decades, with periods of active production followed by inactivity depending on market demand and access to gem pockets. Much of the work was carried out through small scale underground operations targeting rich pockets within the pegmatite. In addition to its economic output, the Little Three Mine gained lasting importance among collectors for the quality of its mineral specimens, making it one of the classic gem producing localities in California.

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