Gahnite

specimen number:
2062858

location:
Sterling Hill, Sussex Co., New Jersey, USA

description:
Lustrous black sharply formed crystals of gahnite measuring to 1.8 cm in size embedded up on a massive calcite matrix. This is in very good condition. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark.

Located in Sussex County, New Jersey, the Sterling Hill deposit formed over a billion years ago when ancient carbonate sediments underwent intense metamorphism within the Reading Prong massif, creating a unique, highly concentrated ore body rich in fluorescent species. Mining operations at the site began as early as the seventeenth century under the mistaken belief that the exposures contained copper and iron, but the location later achieved world-renowned status for heavy commercial production. After active industrial extraction ceased in 1986, the property transitioned into a preserved underground museum and a premier destination for mineral collecting and earth science education.

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