Vanadinite

specimen number:
1822109

location:
Apex Mine, San Carlos, Manuel Benavides, Chihuahua, Mexico

description:

A wonderful miniature size specimen for this Mexican locality. Lustrous prismatic orange crystals of vanadinite to 1.2 cm in size or aesthetically placed upon a small breccia matrix. Crystallized all around; some damage present.

The Apex Mine, situated in the San Carlos district of Manuel Benavides, Chihuahua, Mexico, is a historic mineral deposit that was actively worked for argentiferous lead ores during the late nineteenth century and later saw intermittent production periods from roughly 1930 to 1952. Geologically, the site is characterized by hydrothermal replacement mineralization hosted within Cretaceous carbonate units, where circulating mineral-rich fluids interacted with country rock to deposit lead and silver-bearing veins. Over subsequent decades, oxidation of these primary sulfide bodies within the arid environment created rich secondary mineral zones, making the mine world-famous among collectors for producing exceptional, highly crystallized specimens of vanadinite and associated rare minerals.

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