"SUGAR CUBE" BARITE (QUARTZ ON BARITE). ...

Description

"SUGAR CUBE" BARITE (QUARTZ ON BARITE)
Murray Mine, Independence Mountains, Elko Co., Nevada, USA
Operations at Anglo Gold and Meridian's Murray Mine took an interesting turn with the discovery of open cavities: they were several feet in length, lined with uniquely distinctive, blocky Barite crystals and covered with sparkling druzy Quartz. Miners referred to these as "sugar cubes" for their close resemblance to that coffee-break commodity. These scintillating bits of 'eye candy' are randomly scattered over a dark, siliceous matrix. Most examples are only four to six inches across making this a very significant specimen from this locality since it is over a foot high. The largest of the "sugar cubes" is 5/8 of an inch in length. Further production is highly unlikely considering that the mine has been closed for three years now and there are no plans to re-open it. Overall measurements are 12 ¼ inches high by 5 inches wide by 4 inches thick and it has a custom acrylic base.

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