Pyrite with Quartz

specimen number:
9731003

location:
Spruce Claim, King Co., Washington, USA

description:
A superb very large bright lustrous golden striated crystal of pyrite, this hosting several glassy gemmy terminated crystals of quartz measuring to 4.0 cm in size. In terrific condition. Extremely large crystal size for the species and locality. The specimen comes with a custom display base. The largest dimension provided goes from one corner diagonal across the crystal to another corner.

Located in King County, Washington, the Spruce Claim (also known as the Spruce Ridge claim) in the Snoqualmie District is a famous Pacific Northwest mineral locality situated within granodiorite rocks of the Snoqualmie Batholith. The deposit formed through late-stage hydrothermal activity that created large, fluid-filled quartz pockets within fractures of the host intrusive rock during Tertiary igneous processes. Discovered in the middle twentieth century by local collectors, the claim gained widespread fame among amateur and professional rockhounds for its remarkable specimens of large, well-formed quartz crystals and sharp pyrite crystals, often occurring together in classic aesthetic clusters. Private specimen mining and hand digging over several decades made Spruce Ridge one of the premier collecting sites in the United States for fine display-quality quartz and pyrite specimens.

Questions about this specimen?
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