Rhodostannite with Andorite, Zinkenite

specimen number:
2354138

location:
San Jose Mine, Oruro, Cercado, Oruro, Bolivia

description:
Very tiny gray cube octahedrons of rhodostannite scattered throughout the face of a grouping of andorite metallic crystals. Minor zinkenite present. Some damage present to the andorite, but this is a very good example for the rare mineral rhodostannite. the specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Eric Laskowski.

Situated in the Oruro City province of Bolivia, the San Jose Mine penetrates a complex hydrothermal vein network hosted within Tertiary rhyolitic subvolcanic porphyry stocks and Paleozoic sedimentary strata along the Andean Tin Belt. Originating as an ancient indigenous site before Spanish colonial exploitation began in 1595, the deposit became one of Bolivia's most renowned underground mining complexes, producing immense quantities of silver, tin, and lead across centuries of operations managed by both state enterprises and local mining cooperatives. hydrothermal fluids percolating through fractured breccias precipitated an extraordinary array of metallic sulfide and sulfosalt minerals, making the locality famous among mineralogists and collectors for rare tin-bearing species. Among these rare mineral occurrences is rhodostannite, a reddish-brown to iron-gray copper iron tin sulfide mineral that forms microscopic grains, aggregates, and replacements within the mine's complex polymetallic ore veins.

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