YELLOW MIMETITE. ...

Description

YELLOW MIMETITE
Pingtouling Mine (Dashuihu Mine), Liannan Co., Qingyuan Prefecture, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China
One of the sadder tales in the annals of mineral collecting history is the one regarding the Pingtouling Mine and the lovely Mimetites found there. In the course of the typically uneventful mining operations, a very untypical discovery was made. Strange golden crystals were found in fissures in the ore body. A few were saved to be identified later, but the rest of the odd crystals were sent to the mill. Some time later when the the weird crystals turned out to be rare and valuable Mimetite: most of them had already been ground up and smelted. This exquisite example was one of the lucky survivors. Golden yellow, silky hexagonal 'barrels' are delicately sprinkled over a contrasting orange to black matrix. Some crystals are up to ½ inch in length. Brilliant glassy luster, particularly on the flat terminal faces. In pristine condition, this exceptional specimen measures 3 x 1 ¼ x 1 ¼ inches and has a custom labeled base. The locality has, so far; produced no more of these treasures. From a private European collection.

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