Philipsburgite on Quartz

specimen number:
2351012

location:
Black Pine Mine, Granite Co., Montana, USA

description:
A grouping of crystallized quartz, the top side mostly covered by the botryoidal green crystallized philipsburgite. Damage is present along one edge to the quartz, as a philipsburgite specimen this is very good.

The Black Pine Mine in Granite County, Montana, features polymetallic fissure veins hosted primarily in Precambrian quartzite and shale associated with regional faulting. Discovered in the late 19th century, the site experienced major underground mining periods targeting silver, gold, copper, and lead, becoming famous among mineral collectors for its diverse secondary oxide assemblages. The mine serves as the type locality for philipsburgite, a rare bright green to blue-green hydrated copper zinc arsenate phosphate mineral that forms in the oxidized zones of such base metal deposits.

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