Spessartine on Quartz

specimen number:
9509907

location:
Wushan Mine, Tongbei, Zhangzhou, Fujian, China

description:

A very unusual example from this prolific locality showing large smoky quartz crystals is tallest 12.0 cm in height partially covered with glistening deep orange red gemmy crystals of spessartine averaging 0.3 cm in size. Unusual in that the pyramidal terminations a lighter gray in color due to inclusions. Displays beautifully on its own and in excellent condition, this shows nicely all around. This is old material from over 25 years ago.

The Wushan mine, located near the village of Tongbei in Yunxiao County, Zhangzhou Prefecture, Fujian Province, China, is a highly celebrated mineral locality situated in a rugged, mountainous coastal environment. Geologically, the deposit consists of late Cretaceous miarolitic cavities within the massive, peralkaline Tongbei granite pluton, which formed through intensive magmatic fracturing during regional tectonic rifting. These open pockets provided ideal, undisturbed hydrothermal conditions for the slow crystallization of highly aesthetic mineral combinations, most notably sharp, gemmy orange-red spessartine garnet crystals beautifully contrasted against white, tabular orthoclase feldspar and smoky quartz. Local mineral specimen extraction began on a small scale around 1997 when local farmers discovered the crystal-bearing miarolitic cavities during independent agricultural and stone-cutting activities. Manual excavation intensified throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, but as the shallow, near-surface pockets were exhausted and local environmental and safety regulations tightened, formal specimen mining rapidly declined, with active extraction largely winding down by the late 2000s.

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