Fluorite

specimen number:
9892110

location:
Minerva Mine #1, Hardin Co., Illinois, USA

description:
An attractive matrix less cluster of lustrous mostly gemmy cubic fluorite crystals measuring to 2.6 cm on edge. Cleaving present to one crystal on the lower right side of the piece as seen. Minor chalcopyrite present as inclusions. This is crystallized naturally all around as shown in the video.

The Minerva Mine Number 1, located near Cave-in-Rock in Hardin County, Illinois, was a cornerstone of the historic Illinois-Kentucky fluorspar district. Discovered in 1940 and sinking its primary shaft in 1942, the mine operated intermittently until its final closure in 1996. Geologically, the deposit sits within Mississippian-age carbonate host rocks, where fluorine-bearing hydrothermal fluids migrated through regional faults and bedding-plane replacement zones to form rich ore bodies. Mineralogically, the mine achieved world-renowned status among collectors for producing spectacular specimens, most notably exceptionally sharp cubic and multi-colored fluorite crystals often associated with sphalerite, calcite, barite, strontianite, and witherite.

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