Fluorapatite

specimen number:
2063415

location:
Cerro de Mercado Mine, Victoria de Durango, Cerro de los Remedios, Durango, Mexico

description:
Lustrous mostly gemmy double terminated yellow green crystal of fluorapatite 1.5 x 0.8 x 0.6 cm in size perched attractively up on matrix. In good condition. Excellent thumbnail for this Mexican classic.

The Cerro de Mercado mine, located on the northern outskirts of Durango City near Cerro de los Remedios, is a renowned iron deposit discovered in the mid-sixteenth century and named after Captain Gines de Mercado. Initially sought by early Spanish explorers for mythical precious metals, it transitioned into a premier commercial iron producer during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Geologically, the deposit sits within the Chupaderos Caldera complex of the Sierra Madre Occidental volcanic province, formed during the Tertiary period. The mineralization consists primarily of massive iron oxides hosted in silicic volcanic and felsic rocks, characterized by extensive primary iron phases accompanied by notable quantities of accessory minerals like fluorapatite and hematite pseudomorphs after magnetite within a sub-aerial volcanic environment.

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