Zunyite

specimen number:
1605076

location:
Big Bertha Mine, La Paz Co., Arizona, USA

description:

Crystals of zunyite measuring to 0.25 cm in size embedded up on matrix. In good condition.

The Big Bertha Mine, located in the Dome Rock Mountains within the Middle Camp-Oro Fino Mining District of La Paz County, Arizona, is a small historic prospect and collection site rather than a major industrial metal producer. Geologically, the area features sheared and altered metaigneous and metavolcanic host rocks associated with regional faulting, where localized hydrothermal activity created quartz-hematite masses and specialized alteration zones. Mineralogically, the site is world-renowned among collectors for producing exceptional specimens of zunyite, an uncommon complex aluminum silicate halide, forming sharp, glassy tetrahedral or octahedral crystals embedded in quartz or pyrophyllite matrices that are prized for their distinct shortwave ultraviolet fluorescence.

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