Calcite with Sphalerite

specimen number:
2063361

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

description:
Beautiful classic combination piece, this a deep amber colored glassy yet gem scalenohedral crystal of twinned calcite measuring almost 11.0 cm in length set aesthetically along one side of a lustrous black sphalerite crystal matrix. Very slight micro-cleaving present on one termination, this still very good. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark.

The Elmwood complex, comprising primarily of the Elmwood, Gordonsville, and Cumberland Mines, in Smith County, Tennessee, is situated within Paleozoic carbonate rock formations where mineralizing hydrothermal brines circulated through ancient, open solution cavities, faults, and breccia zones. Originally developed for industrial underground mining starting in the 1970s, the facility gained global renown among mineral collectors because miners recovered world-class crystal specimens from vugs and cavities intersected during operations. While the complex has experienced intermittent commercial closures and changes in corporate ownership over the decades, it remains a legendary locality celebrated for producing some of the finest aesthetic mineral crystals ever discovered.

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