Fluorite with Rhodochrosite, Quartz

specimen number:
2063673

location:
Sunnyside Mine, San Juan Co., Colorado, USA

description:
Quite choice for the species and locality, a grouping of light green semi lustrous translucent fluorite crystals measuring 3.0 x 2.2 x 1.7 cm in size set nicely up on a matrix of crystallized quartz and very light pink small crystallized rhodochrosite. In good condition. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark.

Located near Silverton in the Eureka Mining District of San Juan County, Colorado, the Sunnyside Mine is situated within the collapsed structure of the Miocene-aged Silverton Caldera, a setting rich with complex volcanic features and polymetallic vein networks. Discovered in 1873, the mine grew into one of the largest and most productive operations in the San Juan Mountains, producing massive quantities of gold, silver, lead, zinc, and copper over more than a century of activity. Mineral collectors globally revere the Sunnyside Mine for its extraordinary mineral specimens, most notably its iconic, gemmy pink crystals of rhodochrosite often clustered on quartz, as well as superb crystal groupings of fluorite, galena, tetrahedrite, and pyrite. Following major environmental challenges and mine closures near the end of the twentieth century, active collecting at the site ceased, solidifying Sunnyside specimens as historic classics in top-tier mineral collections.

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