Cassiterite and Quartz with Smoky Quartz Phantoms

The Viloco Mine (sometimes called Araca) for many years has stood as one of the top Cassiterite localities in the world. This mine is still active today and bears the unique distinction of producing the only GEM quality (facet grade) Cassiterites from any mine in Bolivia. Considering the millions of tons of tin ore that Bolivia has yielded, the fact that only one mine ever produced transparent Cassiterite is remarkable.
This attractive display piece features a few sharp lustrous, black cyclic twinned crystals which are associated with unique and very rarely seen prismatic Quartz crystals (measuring up to 2.6 cm) containing small Smoky Quartz phantoms. Additionally, there are some small Cassiterite crystals that are actually “floating” inside the Quartz crystals. The presence of the Smoky Quartz phantoms and sheer three-dimensional appeal, this is a special Cassiterite specimen, and certainly one of the more interesting and eye-catching pieces that I’ve offered. It may be more of a Quartz specimen than a Cassiterite specimen, but it’s definitely different than typical pieces from Viloco.

Specimen # BOL711B165