Sphalerite

specimen number:
9892030

location:
Santa Fe Mine, Tri-State District, Ottawa Co., Oklahoma, USA

description:
Superb lustrous sharp twinned crystals of sphalerite to 4.2 cm in size on a chert matrix. This is in super condition and is wonderful for this old classic.

The Santa Fe Mine was a historical lead and zinc producer located within the Picher field of the Tri-State Mining District in Ottawa County, Oklahoma. Active primarily during the height of the district's twentieth-century production, intensive operations generally spanned from the early 1900s until commercial mining in the area ceased around 1970. Geologically, the deposit is hosted within the Mississippian-age Boone Formation (comprising chert, limestone, and dolomite), where sphalerite and galena ores accumulated along structural breccia zones, fault intersections, and karst-like solution cavities.

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