Sphalerite with Quartz, Chalcopyrite

specimen number:
2312072

location:
Strashimir Mine, Smolyon, Bulgaria

description:
Very choice crystallized sphalerite across the top of a quartz crystal matrix with golden lustrous crystals of chalcopyrite. A great combination piece in very good condition.

The Strashimir Mine, located in the Smolyan Province within the Madan ore field of the Central Rhodope Mountains in southern Bulgaria, is part of one of Europe's premier lead-zinc and silver mining districts. Geologically, the deposit is hosted within a high-grade metamorphic core complex consisting of Precambrian gneisses, schists, and thick marble packages cut by extensional fault systems and late Oligocene magmatic intrusions. Hydrothermal activity circulating through these fractured tectonic zones and reactive carbonate layers precipitated extensive quartz-sulfide veins and massive metasomatic replacement bodies. Commercial extraction began during the first half of the twentieth century to supply base metals, and the underground workings have since become internationally famous among mineral collectors for producing magnificent crystal specimens of galena, sphalerite, pyrite, quartz, and calcite.

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