Mixed Minerals from China!

A beautiful example of blue fluorite with very transparent quartz, from the Yaogangxian Mine. The fluorite has frosted surfaces, though I particularly liked the arrangement of this one, combined with the transparent quartz (that has an intact tip!) and the pleasant blue color of the fluorite.

A great example of genthelivte, from earlier finds at the Huanggang Mine. This is the zinc rich member of the helvite group-- in a sense this is the rarer cousin of helvite, the manganese- rich member. Until the discoveries at Huanggang, genthelvite was most often (not to imply that is was common) available as small crystals from Mont Sant Hilaire, with occasional crystals being found in at localities like Zagi Mountain, or in Skardu.  This one features a group of tetrahedrons,  nicely positioned at the center of their matrix.  There is a chip on the tip, and the price takes this into account.

A light green, cubic fluorite crystal on a partial quartz crystal. Greens are encountered somewhat more infrequently at Yaogangxian, this one has decent transparency and a clear phantom-- though I particularly like the way the crystal is perched on the quartz. 

A large quartz crystal hosting two very transparent fluorites near the base-- both show clear phantoms,  and have good luster. The later generation is particularly transparent, making easer to see the internal features. 

A nice example hosting a decently sized (for this locality) fluorite crystal on matrix.  The crystal measures 2.1 cm.  This locality is best known for its spessartine/ quartz combinations, though it also produced a smaller quantity of fluorite. This one has a a thin transparent outer layer, with a core that displays more standard translucent quality. 

A beautiful little specimen from Yaogangxian, with a purple fluorite cube nicely positioned at the center of a calcite nest. 

A great example of what has been nicknamed "QR code fluorite" in reference to the appearance of the faces, caused by a later generation of purple fluorite that has crystalized over a lighter core. Because this later generation varies in thickness, the purple color that comes through has a mottled appearance that somewhat resembles a QR code. Although a little bit dark, this one was my favorite from a lot of over 50 pieces-- while most tend to be clusters, this one had a nicely isolated crystal. With a little backlighting, the QR code appearance really comes through, without it, this is still visible but not as obvious. 

A beautiful cabinet-sized calcite specimen from Daye, this one is a cluster of pointy "dogtooth" calcite crystals that were partially covered in chalcopyrite, and then a later generation of "Elmwood-esque" calcites grew over those. Not perfect, but very, very clean as far as these go-- I saw a bunch in Daye, and almost all had damage in exactly the wrong places!

A cluster of light pink fluorite octahedrons from a discovery made around 2019-2020.

A beautiful crystal of blue fluorite with a purple core, framed by a bit of muscovite, from the Yaogangxian Mine. There is a cleave on the top-- the price takes this into account!

A cute Yaogangxian fluorite, with a purple core and light blue outer layer. 

A very pretty example of purple yttrofluorite on calcite, from the Dachang Pollymetalic Orefied.  There has been quite a bit of this material around, but I always run into three problems-- it is either too damaged, too dark, or too light. The yttrofluorite on this one has a pleasant lavender color, and is sprinkled over a nice arrangement of calcite crystals. A couple of the tips are missing!

A very pretty example of purple yttrofluorite on calcite, from the Dachang Pollymetalic Orefied.  There has been quite a bit of this material around, but I always run into three problems-- it is either too damaged, too dark, or too light. This one didn't seem to have any of these issues-- the yttrofluorite has a pleasant lavender color, and is sprinkled over an arrangement of calcite crystals.  This one is also kind of neat because the calcites around the edges are not coated in yttrofluorite, which gives the piece a nice visual border.

A cute miniature sized sample of "pagoda" calcite from Daye.  I often see big ones, but cute, perfect, little ones are a little less common. This one can be displayed from multiple angles. 

A cluster of very transparent fluorite cubes on a bit of matrix. Classic material from this area, I liked this one for the arrangement of the crystals and the lack of damage-- if there is any, its very hard to see. 

Another example of the classic transparent green fluorite from Xianghualing, though admittedly it is that transparency that makes them a bit hard to photograph.  This one stood out for a couple reasons, firstly the main crystal is somewhat elongated, this is a bit unusual as the locality typically only produces cubes, or clusters of cubes.  Secondly, there is a calcite "halo" (I could call it a "hat" but it sits behind the main crystal and frames it rather nicely) on the top of the specimen. 

A nice example of very transparent calcite from an older find in Guangxi. You can see through to the remaining bits of underlying brown matrix (and I suspect some is slightly included), which gives them a very distinct appearance. 

A nice example of columnar calcite, from a slightly older discovery notable for the incredible transparency of the crystal. Complete, though part of the termination is etched (see the close-up photo)

A sizable plate of creedite crystals from Dachang, with multiple clusters of spiky, faintly purple crystals scattered across the matrix. 

A very transparent fluorite crystal from Yaogangxian, with a very neat phantom-- you can easily make out a purple cube-octahedral phantom inside, along with its beveled edges. There is a bit of damage on this one, most notably on the right side-- the transparency and backlighting admittedly make this a little harder to see, though it is clearest in the last image (taken from the right side.)

A nice example of what has been nicknamed "QR code fluorite," in reference to the appearance of the square faces that have thin, later generation of purple fluorite, imparting a mottled purple and white pattern that resembles a QR code. This one has a light whitish-green core, that allows the" "QR code" feature to be easily seen.  The picture is taken under strong lighting (these tend to need it to best appreciate the colors) but you can appreciate this even in a dimly lit room. This came from a group of over 50, I am just posting my two favorites here. 

A nice azurite specimen with reasonably large (for this locality) crystals on a. matrix that is also dusted with pleasantly contrasting green malachite. This locality typically produces plates of tightly packed  sub-1 mm crystals, though around 2020-2021 they found these better ones. 

A very unusual specimen from Yaogangxian, I only saw a few of these and they were all large. This is a large matrix specimen, covered in blue crystals. While most blue Yaogangxian fluorites (by which I mean this inkier blue, not the aqua colored ones) have been irradiated, I am fairly sure this is natural-- there is also a lot of white quartz on the piece, and it has not turned black.  On the irradiated specimens, you see a darker blue, and all the quartz has turned morion-black, or at the very least smoky. While it is an unusual fluorite specimen for this locality in its own right, I think what made it stand out most to me is actually what is underneath it-- along the edges you can see that the fluorite and quartz are covering clusters of hubnerite. Granted this does nothing for the visual appeal, but I thought it was interesting to see so much hubnerite from here-- the main wolframite group mineral present at Yaogangxian is the iron-rich member (ferberite), but this one has the manganese-rich member (hubnerite.). 

A nice example of botryoidal yellow smithsonite, from finds made a few years ago in Yunnan Province. Yellow cadmian smithsonite is probably one of the more uncommon habits, these closely resemble the antique pieces from Sicily.

A nicely arranged example of green fluorite crystals, some with light purple phantoms, framing a terminated white quartz crystal.  This comes from older finds at the Huanggang Mine. 

A delicately sculptural combination specimen of stibnite with calcite, from older finds in Hunan that predate the explosion of specimens from Wuling in Jiangxi Province. China is home to the world's largest antimony reserves, and I can remember seeing Chinese stibnite specimens since I started collecting many years ago, but these combination pieces were not found too many times. 

A cute  combination specimen of stibnite with calcite, from older finds in Hunan that predate the explosion of specimens from Wuling in Jiangxi Province. China is home to the world's largest antimony reserves, and I can remember seeing Chinese stibnite specimens since I started collecting many years ago, but these combination pieces were not found too many times.  This one has a pair of calcite crystals clinging to the side of a small stibnite spear.  Not terminated. 

A delicately sculptural combination specimen of stibnite with calcite, from older finds in Hunan that predate the explosion of specimens from Wuling in Jiangxi Province. China is home to the world's largest antimony reserves, and I can remember seeing Chinese stibnite specimens since I started collecting many years ago, but these combination pieces were not found too many times. Both crystals are terminated.

A delicately sculptural combination specimen of stibnite with calcite, from older finds in Hunan that predate the explosion of specimens from Wuling in Jiangxi Province. China is home to the world's largest antimony reserves, and I can remember seeing Chinese stibnite specimens since I started collecting many years ago, but these combination pieces were not found too many times. The stibnite is terminated, but there is a chip on the side visible in the images. 

A delicately sculptural combination specimen of stibnite with calcite, from older finds in Hunan that predate the explosion of specimens from Wuling in Jiangxi Province. China is home to the world's largest antimony reserves, and I can remember seeing Chinese stibnite specimens since I started collecting many years ago, but these combination pieces were not found too many times. This one features a group of thin stibnite crystals, that seemingly pierce through a group of slightly flattened calcite crystals. 

A beautiful example of this calcite habit from Daye-- they are usually single sheafs, and almost always missing the tips-- but this one is a cluster of two that are quite nicely arranged, and they are both intact. I'm not sure what the proper adjective to describe this is, but I am sure there is one... they are too 3D to be "feathery"... maybe "coniferous"? 

A nice example of what has aptly been nicknamed "blueberry quartz," this specimen has a number of inky blue (almost black) crystals clinging to the sides of a white quartz crystal.  The quartz crystals themselves tend to have transparent cores, but subsequent generations of growth and harsh conditions inside the mine have etched them and made the surfaces white-- the blue fluorite has crystalized over this.  Under strong lighting, you can see the inky blue color, without strong lighting, it is closer to black-- if you have seen this style in person, then you will know what I am talking about. This one had a pleasant arrangement of fluorites on the quartz, you can see the termination of the quartz crystal, rather than it being just a fluorite-covered pillar. 

A nice example of what has aptly been nicknamed "blueberry quartz," this specimen has a number of inky blue (almost black) crystals clinging to the sides of a white quartz crystal.  The quartz crystals themselves tend to have transparent cores, but subsequent generations of growth and harsh conditions inside the mine have etched them and made the surfaces white-- the blue fluorite has crystalized over this.  Under strong lighting, you can see the inky blue color, without strong lighting, it is closer to black-- if you have seen this style in person, then you will know what I am talking about. I apologize for all the contrast in the image, it's necessary to show the surface features of the fluorite, but then the white quartz comes out looking ridiculously bright....

A nice example of what has aptly been nicknamed "blueberry quartz," this specimen has a number of inky blue (almost black) crystals clinging to the sides of a white quartz crystal.  The quartz crystals themselves tend to have transparent cores, but subsequent generations of growth and harsh conditions inside the mine have etched them and made the surfaces white-- the blue fluorite has crystalized over this.  Under strong lighting, you can see the inky blue color, without strong lighting, it is closer to black-- if you have seen this style in person, then you will know what I am talking about. This one had a large crystal perched on the top of a quartz pillar-- usually I prefer when I can see the quartz's termination, but the big crystal was a decent substitute.