Strontianite with Fluorite, Barite

specimen number:
2312151

location:
Minerva Mine #1, Hardin Co., Illinois, USA

description:
Spiky acicular crystals of strontianite very rich across the top of this matrix with purple gemmy crystals of fluorite and thick tabular crystals of barite. In good condition. Neat combination piece.

The Minerva Mine Number 1, located in Hardin County, Illinois, is situated within the famous Illinois-Kentucky Fluorspar District, a major Mississippi Valley-Type mineralized region. Historically, commercial operations developed during the twentieth century to extract essential fluorspar for the steel and chemical industries, utilizing extensive underground mining techniques. Geologically, the deposit is hosted within faulted Paleozoic sedimentary rocks, primarily limestones, which were cut by intrusive igneous dikes. Mineralization occurred when warm, fluorine-rich hydrothermal fluids circulated through structural faults and bedding planes, depositing massive and crystalline fluorite alongside associated minerals such as calcite, barite, sphalerite, galena, strontianite, witherite and benstonite.

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