Sphalerite

specimen number:
8911228

location:
Osikovo deposit, Septemvri Mine, Madan, Smolyan, Bulgaria

description:
Lustrous twinned green translucent crystals of sphalerite measuring to 1.0 cm in size very aesthetic with minor attached quartz. In excellent condition. This is the variety of the species often called cleophane. The specimen comes with a previous label from the Alton collection.

The Osikovo deposit, associated with the Septemvri (or 9th of September) Mine within the Madan ore field of Smolyan Province, southern Bulgaria, is part of a premier Central Rhodope mining district with roots stretching back to antiquity. Geologically, the deposit is situated within the Central Rhodope Dome, where complex hydrothermal lead, zinc, and silver mineralizing fluids ascended through regional fault systems, replacing carbonate host rocks and forming subvertical veins and stockworks within metamorphic sequences. Mineralogically, the underground workings of the Septemvri Mine have become world-famous among collectors for yielding exceptional, museum-grade sulfide and associated specimens, most notably mirror-bright cubic or skeletal galena, sphalerite, pyrite, and chalcopyrite resting upon contrasting white quartz and carbonate matrices. Historically, while ancient Thracians and Romans initially worked the shallow oxidized zones for metals, modern industrial scale underground extraction expanded heavily during the twentieth century under state-backed operations, establishing Madan as one of Europe's most prolific sources of classic mineral specimens.

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