Fluorite (GEM QUALITY bi-color “floater”)The famous Shangbao Mine in China has been the source of some of the most attractive Fluorite specimens from any locality in the entire country, which is really saying something considering the large amount of Fluorite that has come out of various Chinese localities over the last couple decades. The Shangbao specimens feature beautiful color combinations along with eye catching crystal forms, and this piece is a great example. This thumbnail sized

Specimen# CO712B79

I’ve never seen a Calcite quite like this from the Camp Bird Mine

Mark Chance Bandy described Paravauxite crystals in his book "Mineralogy of Llallagua

For sheer size and aesthetics

jet-black group of “drill bit” twinned crystals is certainly fine quality for the species and the locality

It is lustrous on the front

and not Ferberite

This is a Baveno twin and looks fantastic from all angles

Dave Bergman was the foreman and operated the Sweet Home Mine for my father in the late 1970s when they were mining world-class Rhodochrosite specimens

doubly termianted crystal group of "sword"-shaped Vivianite is beautifully set between two pieces of red argillaceous sandstone to create this wonderful miniature display specimen

the piece was a gift from Erberto Tealdi (former editor of Rivista Mineralogica Italiana)

as each angle makes its case for being the "display" side of the crystal