Stephanite

specimen number:
2262047

location:
Las Chispas Mine, Arizpe, Sonora, Mexico

description:

A loose grouping of lustrous double terminated metallic stephanite crystals. In good condition all around with very minimal micro-damage present. Very fine Mexican classic.

The Las Chispas Mine, located in the Arizpe Municipality of Sonora, Mexico, is a renowned producer of high-grade silver and gold. Geologically, it is a low-sulfidation epithermal deposit where mineralization is hosted in quartz-calcite veins within Tertiary volcanic rocks, primarily andesitic and rhyolitic tuffs. The district is celebrated for its spectacular specimens of stephanite, a silver antimony sulfide that occurs as jet-black, metallic, tabular crystals. These world-class stephanite crystals are often found in association with other silver minerals like polybasite and pyrargyrite within bonanza-style ore shoots. Historically, the mine was discovered in the late 1800s and saw its most significant early production between 1880 and 1930. After a long period of inactivity, modern exploration by SilverCrest Metals led to the redevelopment of the site, with new commercial production beginning in 2022. The mine remains a premier locality for both industrial silver extraction and the recovery of exceptional silver sulfosalt specimens.

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