Sphalerite with Fluorite

specimen number:
2013414

location:
Denton Mine, Hardin Co., Illinois, USA

description:

Bright lustrous sharp crystals of sphalerite to 1.0 cm in size across both sides of matrix and hosting gemmy purple crystals of lustrous fluorite. This is an excellent combination piece, the sphalerite crystals are quite large in fine for the species in this mining district. They also exhibit twinning. Collected in the very early 1980s.

The Denton Mine in Hardin County, Illinois was part of the Illinois Kentucky Fluorspar District, a region that became one of the leading sources of fluorite in the United States during the 20th century. The mine worked fluorite vein deposits hosted in limestone and produced fluorite along with associated minerals such as calcite, galena, and sphalerite. Operations were carried out by underground mining methods and contributed to the districts role in supplying fluorspar for steel and chemical industries. The mine is now inactive but remains known among collectors for fluorite specimens from southern Illinois.

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