Scheelite with Muscovite

specimen number:
9273022

location:
Pingwu mine, Huya, Mount Little Xuebaoding, Pingwu Co., Mianyang, Sichuan, China

description:
Gorgeous deep orange partly gemmy and lustrous crystals of scheelite across the top of a muscovite crystal matrix. In great condition, a beautiful example for the species.

The Pingwu mine, situated near the town of Huya within Pingwu County of Mianyang Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China, is a famous underground mining operation renowned globally for producing world-class mineral specimens of sharp, pseudocubic orange scheelite crystals on a matrix of white albite and muscovite. Geologically, this deposit is located along the structural margins of the Xuelongbao dome and is classified as a highly evolved tungsten-tin-bearing granitic pegmatite and greisen system that intruded into Neoproterozoic metamorphic rocks. Hydrothermal mineralization occurred under specific chemical conditions where calcium-rich fluids interacted with tungsten-bearing magmatic fluids, precipitating lustrous, pseudooctahedral orange scheelite crystals that frequently display intense sky-blue fluorescence under shortwave ultraviolet light. Historically, the remote mountain site was initially worked on a small scale for industrial tungsten ore during the mid-to-late twentieth century, but operations shifted dramatically in the early 1990s when independent miners recognized the immense value of intact collector specimens. Specimen extraction peaked between 1995 and 2005, transforming the locality into a legendary source for fine minerals before stricter government environmental controls and safety regulations slowed artisanal digging in the region. Through 2026, while large-scale industrial output is limited, the Pingwu mine area remains a primary international mineralogical benchmark for studying the crystallization habits of high-quality secondary tungsten minerals within granite-related pegmatite systems.

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