The many mines of Butte amount to over 11,000 miles of workings below the city. Without specific provenance, it’s nearly impossible to associate specimens with specific mines. The “richest hill on earth” first originated as a mining camp for gold but would later rapidly develop into one of the world’s most historic sulfide deposits. Rich veins of covellite, chalcocite, enargite, and other minerals as thick as 100 feet were stoped out, supplying the world with a large portion of its industrial copper.
This is a fairly simple, yet exceedingly rare example of fluorite from Butte. Seldom found available to collectors, Butte fluorite is one of the elusive species from the supergene polymetallic deposit that was observed in very minute quantities at best. Complex stepping is present across most faces, with strong fluorescence in ultraviolet light. I note 5 distinct crystal nucleation sites, intergrown together to almost entirely coat the matrix, of which small quartz and chalcopyrite can be seen.
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(2.4 × 1.2 × 1.3 in - 6.0 × 3.0 × 3.3 cm) 1.9oz / 55g
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The many mines of Butte amount to over 11,000 miles of workings below the city. Without specific provenance, it’s nearly impossible to associate specimens with specific mines. The “richest hill on earth” first originated as a mining camp for gold but would later rapidly develop into one of the world’s most historic sulfide deposits. Rich veins of covellite, chalcocite, enargite, and other minerals as thick as 100 feet were stoped out, supplying the world with a large portion of its industrial copper.
This is a fairly simple, yet exceedingly rare example of fluorite from Butte. Seldom found available to collectors, Butte fluorite is one of the elusive species from the supergene polymetallic deposit that was observed in very minute quantities at best. Complex stepping is present across most faces, with strong fluorescence in ultraviolet light. I note 5 distinct crystal nucleation sites, intergrown together to almost entirely coat the matrix, of which small quartz and chalcopyrite can be seen.
Thank you so much for viewing! Please message for any further information
(2.4 × 1.2 × 1.3 in - 6.0 × 3.0 × 3.3 cm) 1.9oz / 55g
ORDERS SHIP MONDAYS
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