Wulfenite

specimen number:
8311328

location:
La Morita Mine, Chihuahua, Mexico

description:
Choice butterscotch colored thin platy crystal of wulfenite set up on a small amount of matrix with yellow vivid crystallized mimetite. In great condition.

The La Morita Mine, located in the Ascension Municipality of Chihuahua, Mexico, is a world-renowned locality situated near the border with New Mexico. Geologically, it is an oxidized lead-zinc deposit where hydrothermal fluids reacted with Cretaceous limestone and shale, creating a complex secondary mineral environment. The mine is most famous for its unique wulfenite crystals, which are typically found as thin, tabular plates characterized by a distinctive honey-yellow to pale orange color. Historically, the mine saw intermittent small-scale production during the mid-20th century, with significant specimen mining activity occurring primarily in the 1980s and 1990s as the quality of its wulfenite gained international recognition. While it was never a major industrial producer compared to other Chihuahua giants like Santa Eulalia or Naica, La Morita remains a staple name in mineralogy for the aesthetic quality and distinct thin-plate morphology of its lead-molybdate specimens.

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