Wulfenite with Calcite

specimen number:
1052538

location:
Bleiberg, Carinthia, Austria

description:
Thin platy yellow crystals of wulfenite measuring to 0.5 cm in size across the top of a crystallized calcite matrix. Some damage present as seen. The specimen comes with a previous antique label as shown at the end of the video and dates to the very early 20th century. Note that this label calls the underlying crystals rhodochrosite. I believe that they are calcite. Nice for this classic old locality.

The Bleiberg mining district, located in the Gailtal Alps of Carinthia, Austria, is one of the world's most famous Mississippi Valley-Type (MVT) lead-zinc deposits. Geologically, the mineralization is hosted within the Triassic-aged Wetterstein limestone and dolomite, where metal-bearing fluids migrated through fractured carbonate rocks to form massive ore bodies. Historically, mining in the region dates back to Roman times or earlier, with formal records beginning in the 14th century. The district became a major industrial powerhouse under the Austrian Empire and continued large-scale production through the 20th century until the final closure of the mines in 1993. Beyond its economic importance for lead and zinc, Bleiberg is a legendary mineral locality, most notably for producing world-class specimens of wulfenite. The wulfenite crystals from this district are celebrated for their sharp tabular habit and intense butter-yellow to orange-yellow color, and the site is the type locality for this species, first described by Franz Xaver von Wulfen in the late 18th century.

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