Realgar

specimen number:
2063681

location:
Royal Reward Mine, Green River Gorge, King Co., Washington, USA

description:
A beautiful thumbnail cluster of glassy slightly translucent brilliant red double terminated realgar. This is in very good condition and still completely fresh. This would have been collected in the 1970s.

Situated within the Green River Gorge region of King County, Washington, the Royal Reward Mine operates in a complex geological setting of folded and faulted Tertiary sedimentary and volcanic rock sequences. Mining operations along the steep gorge initially targeted arsenic and mercury mineralization in the mid-twentieth century, exposing high-grade veins containing abundant realgar alongside associated minerals like orpiment and realgar-bearing clay matrices. Realgar is an arsenic sulfide mineral famous among collectors for its intense, vibrant red-orange hue and distinct resinous to greasy luster. It formed in this locality via hydrothermal solutions circulating through fractured host rock at relatively low temperatures, depositing mineral-rich fluids into faults and crevices. Collectors value specimens from the Royal Reward Mine for their vivid coloration and rich history, though realgar requires careful storage in dark environments because exposure to light eventually breaks the mineral down into a yellow powdery byproduct known as pararealgar.

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