Variscite

specimen number:
2292261

location:
Lucin, Box Elder Co., Utah, USA

description:
A solid nodule of green variscite, this polished to bring out the color. Classic material for this locality.

The Lucin variscite deposit, located on Utahlite Hill in western Box Elder County, Utah, is a historic mineral locality famous for producing vibrant green nodules of variscite. Geologically, the deposit occurs as a low-temperature, near-surface hydrothermal replacement within brecciated, fractured zones of the Mississippian-age Great Blue Limestone, where phosphate-bearing meteoric waters reacted with aluminum-rich clay minerals in the host rock. This localized alteration process precipitated smooth, compact nodules, veins, and replacement masses of variscite, a hydrous aluminum phosphate mineral, alongside associated phosphate species like wardite and crandallite. Small-scale commercial quarrying and artisanal digging began around 1909 after the material was formally recognized, with production peaking intermittently during the first half of the twentieth century to supply the lapidary and gemstone trades. While large-scale commercial exploitation has ceased, the claims have remained privately held, with small-scale independent specimen mining and selective hand-digging continuing to yield high-quality collector and lapidary material well into the 2020s.

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