3.15" Intense, Sky-Blue Aragonite Aggregation - Wenshan Mine, China

This is a beautiful, sky-blue, sparkling aggregate of aragonite. The individual crystals that make up this specimen exhibit a wonderful sparkle and bear a velvety luster when rotated under a light source. This specimen was collected from the Wenshan zinc mines in the Yunnan Province of China.

Aragonite is one of two common calcium carbonate (CaCO3) minerals: the other is calcite, of which aragonite forms as a pseudomorph. Its crystal lattice differs from calcite, resulting in a different crystal shape. It displays a translucent to white color when pure, and when impure can vary between yellow, green, pink, blue and brown. It typically forms in low-temperature hydrothermal veins, in hot springs, and as precipitates from chemicals in sedimentary rock. It can also form under biological processes: aragonite forms naturally in most mollusk shells, and as the calcareous endoskeleton most corals.
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DETAILS
SPECIES
Aragonite
LOCATION
Wenshan Zinc Mine, Wenshan City, Yunnan, China
SIZE
3.15 x 1.7"
CATEGORY
ITEM
#218026