Silver in Quartz

specimen number:
8821943

location:
Consols Mine, Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia

description:
A cut slab showing rich native silver within quartz.

The Australian Broken Hill Consols Mine, located about 600 yards east of the main Broken Hill line of lode in New South Wales, operated primarily during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with significant recorded production occurring between 1890 and 1903. Geologically, unlike the massive conformable lead, zinc, and silver orebodies of the main Broken Hill field, the Consols lode occupies a narrow, discordant fissure cutting obliquely through metamorphosed country rocks, featuring an abundance of calcite and siderite with a virtual absence of silicate gangue minerals. Mineralogically, the mine became world-famous for its exceptionally rich silver ores, producing a diverse array of rare native silver and antimony-silver species such as dyscrasite, alongside halides and secondary alteration products that yielded legendary specimens for mineral collectors.

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