Gold (Palladium-rich)

specimen number:
8911167

location:
near Icabaru, Gran Sabana, Venezuela

description:
A beautiful cluster of bright crystallized native gold, this rich in palladium. In excellent condition. The cluster weighs 3.3 g. The specimen comes with a previous label from the Alton collection.

Located in the rugged highlands of the Gran Sabana within the Guiana Shield of southeastern Venezuela, Icabaru is renowned for rich alluvial and eluvial placer deposits derived from the weathering of ancient Precambrian sedimentary formations of the Roraima Group. Mining activity here, largely centered around remote river gravels and historic operations like the Zapata claims along the Icabaru River, has long attracted prospectors and mineral collectors. The region is especially famous among advanced collectors for yielding remarkably sharp, well-crystallized native gold specimens. Much of this material is distinguished by a unique palladium-rich composition, where palladium substitutes naturally within the metallic structure, sometimes giving the specimens a paler, silvery-yellow hue and making them prized rarities in systematic mineral collections.

Questions about this specimen?
Send an email or call us: 314-341-1811.