Calcite (CAR-0030)

specimen number:
9273101

location:
Elmwood Mine, Smith Co., Tennessee, USA

description:

Gorgeous grouping of glassy gem quality scalenohedral calcite crystals with little attached matrix. One area with natural contacting as seen, this is in excellent condition all around. The quality is outstanding.

The Elmwood mine, located near Carthage in Smith County, Tennessee, is an underground zinc mining operation developed through a network of vertical shafts and a decline ramp. Geologically, the deposit is a classic example of a Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) stratabound mineralization hosted within deeply karstified, brecciated carbonate rocks of the Lower Ordovician Knox Group. Mineralizing hydrothermal fluids moving through these highly permeable collapse breccias precipitated zinc sulfide (sphalerite) alongside an exceptional gangue assemblage featuring large, well-formed crystals of fluorite, calcite, barite, and galena. Historically, the deposit was discovered during exploratory drilling in 1967, and commercial underground extraction officially commenced in 1975 under the New Jersey Zinc Company. The operation changed corporate ownership multiple times over subsequent decades and faced temporary economic shutdowns, including a significant closure from 2004 to 2009, after which operations were revived by Nyrstar to process the high-grade sphalerite ore through its regional processing infrastructure. Active commercial ore extraction and milling have continued under corporate management through 2026.

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