Wulfenite with Mimetite

specimen number:
2072272

location:
Rowley Mine, Maricopa Co., Arizona, USA

description:
Attractive orange lustrous gemmy platy crystals of wulfenite on matrix with minor mimetite. In good condition with minimal damage present.

The Rowley Mine, located on the western edge of the Painted Rock Mountains in Maricopa County, Arizona, is a classic locality renowned for its diverse secondary minerals. Geologically, the deposit consists of a series of mineralized veins filling a 4,000-foot-long fault zone that cuts through Tertiary volcanic rocks like andesite and dacite. The mine is world-famous for its wulfenite crystals, which typically occur as exceptionally clear, lustrous, and tabular plates ranging in color from golden yellow to vibrant orange, often associated with red mimetite or white baryte. Historically, the deposit was discovered in 1900 and saw its first organized mining around 1909 under the Rowley Copper Mines Company, which initially targeted copper. Industrial operations were intermittent between 1909 and 1923, during which time significant wulfenite was identified and processed for its molybdenum content. Following the cessation of commercial ore production in the 1920s, the mine became a celebrated site for specimen recovery, particularly after 1945 when the aesthetic quality of its crystals gained widespread recognition among collectors and museums. Today, the Rowley Mine remains a legendary Arizona locality, prized for producing some of the most morphologically diverse and colorful wulfenite specimens in the southwestern United States.

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