Dolomite and Quartz on Sphalerite

A wonderful display specimen from the famous Black Cloud mine featuring highly vitreous rhombohedra of cream-colored Dolomite – some of which are oriented into a spherical aggregate at the top of the specimen – which are sitting atop beautifully contrasting silvery-blue Quartz on black Sphalerite matrix. Some minor associated Galena can be seen on the side of the piece as well. It’s such a unique color combination and displays beautifully as you can see from the photos. One of the most interesting and attractive pieces of this material that I have offered.

The Black Cloud Mine was one of the most famous specimen producing locales in Leadville and was one of the last operating mines in Colorado when it closed in 1999. The Leadville mining district was the most productive silver-mining region in Colorado. As of 1963 the cumulative production of the area was 240 million troy ounces of Silver = $6.6 billion at today’s prices.

Specimen# CO712B44