Calcite with Chalcopyrite, Dolomite

specimen number:
9892169

location:
Sweetwater Mine, Viburnum Trend, Reynolds Co., Missouri, USA

description:
Colorless gemmy lustrous crystals of calcite, the prominent one double terminated and measuring to 2.7 cm in length, on a breccia matrix that is completely coated with small sparkling crystals of colorless dolomite and tiny golden crystals of chalcopyrite. From the early 2000's, collected from the southern development headings at the time.

The Sweetwater Mine, situated on the southern end of the Viburnum Trend in Reynolds County, Missouri, opened in the late 1960s as part of the expansion of the Southeast Missouri Lead District. Geologically, the deposit is a classic Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) ore body hosted within the porous platform carbonates of the Upper Cambrian Bonneterre Dolomite. Mineralization primarily consists of galena, sphalerite, and chalcopyrite, accompanied by prominent gangue minerals such as spectacular scalenohedral calcite and pyrite. While several historic mines in the district have wound down operations over the decades, the Sweetwater Mine has remained an active and vital part of regional production under modern operators.

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