Caracolite with Barite

specimen number:
2354077

location:
Lolon Main Mine, Cerro Challacollo, Pozo Almonte, Tamarugal, Tarapaca, Chile

description:
Good example for the species with many colorless sharp crystals of caracolite to 0.3 cm in size across this matrix with minor barite. In good condition, the specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Eric Laskowski.

The Lolon Main Mine, located at Cerro Challacollo within the Pozo Almonte municipality of the Tamarugal Province in Tarapaca, Chile, lies within a highly hyperarid desert regime known for complex epithermal lead-zinc-silver vein deposits hosted in Mesozoic volcanic and sedimentary sequences. Intense secondary oxidation of silver and lead ores in this extremely dry environment led to the formation of rare halide and sulfate minerals. Caracolite was first identified in Chile in the late nineteenth century and remains a prized rarity among mineral collectors. Specimens from the Lolon Mine typically feature microscopic, colorless to pale yellow pseudohexagonal crystals situated within oxidized vein cavities, reflecting both the region historic silver mining heritage and its unique geochemical history.

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