Silver

specimen number:
8911217

location:
Fresnillo, Zacatecas, Mexico

description:
A crystallized cluster of native silver without matrix. In great condition. A choice thumbnail that comes with a previous label from the Alton collection.

The Fresnillo mining district, located in Zacatecas, Mexico, is situated within a major epithermal vein system formed during Tertiary magmatic activity along the Sierra Madre Occidental. Host rocks consisting of Mesozoic marine sedimentary units and volcanic structures were fractured and injected with rich hydrothermal solutions, depositing extensive silver, lead, and zinc mineralization in steep quartz veins and replacement bodies. Silver extraction began in the mid-1500s following Spanish colonization, making Fresnillo one of the oldest continuously operating mining centers in the Western Hemisphere. Modern underground operations have cemented its status as one of the most prolific silver producers in history, while the district is celebrated among collectors for yielding world-class, well-crystallized specimens of silver sulfides, pyrargyrite, polybasite, and associated gangue minerals.

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