7.9" Cabinet Sized, Gemmy Sphalerite On Quartz - China

Here is a beautiful 7.9" sphalerite & quartz crystal association, collected from China. Many of the sphalerite crystals formed in somewhat spherical aggregations and all display a fascinatng red-orange translucence. The specimen is in overall great shape and displays nicely on a flat surface, though a display stand will be accompanied with the specimen for preferred presentation.

Sphalerite is a part of the sulfide group and typically exhibits a grey/black appearance due to high concentrations of impurities. In its purest state, sphalerite's chemical composition is ZnS, and can display a gemmy transparent light tan/yellow color. This is one of the few minerals that can form crystals ranging anywhere between gemmy and transparent to opaque and metallic-like. Opaque or cloudy sphalerite tends to be most abundant since iron easily replaces zinc in the process of formation.

Quartz is the name given to silicon dioxide (SiO2) and is the second most abundant mineral in the Earth's crust. Quartz crystals generally grow in silica-rich environments--usually igneous rocks or hydrothermal environments like geothermal waters--at temperatures between 100°C and 450°C, and usually under very high pressure. In either case, crystals will precipitate as temperatures cool, just as ice gradually forms when water freezes. Quartz veins are formed when open fissures are filled with hot water during the closing stages of mountain formation: these veins can be hundreds of millions of years old.

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DETAILS
SPECIES
Sphalerite & Quartz
LOCATION
China
SIZE
Specimen 7.9" long, 6.9" wide
CATEGORY
ITEM
#94841