Sphalerite with Quartz, Dolomite

specimen number:
2312150

location:
Krushev dol Mine, Madan, Smolyan, Bulgaria

description:
Lovely combination piece with lustrous sharp crystals of sphalerite measuring to 3.5 cm are in size on matrix with spiky crystals of quartz. Dolomite present as well. This is in good condition.

The Krushev Dol Mine, located within the Madan Ore Field of the Central Rhodope Mountains in southern Bulgaria, is part of an extensive polymetallic mining district with centuries of historic and modern underground extraction. Geologically, the deposit is situated within a core of high-grade metamorphic rocks where major fault systems host hydrothermal vein and carbonate replacement orebodies formed during the Oligocene epoch. These mineralizing fluids deposited significant quantities of lead and zinc, yielding economic concentrations of galena and sphalerite alongside gangue minerals such as quartz, calcite, and dolomite. The underground workings are well known among mineral collectors for producing crystal specimens, including translucent sphalerite var. cleiophane crystals associated with quartz and galena.

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