Scheelite

specimen number:
2063579

location:
Stavoren Mine, Limpopo, South Africa

description:
Very rich brown masses of scheelite in a quartz rich matrix with chalcopyrite. Brightly fluorescent under shortwave ultraviolet light. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark. Interesting locality example for the species.

Located in the Bushveld Igneous Complex within the Limpopo Province of South Africa, the Stavoren Mine is a historic tin deposit hosted in granitic rocks and granophyres associated with the Rooiberg Group. Discovered and mined primarily during the early twentieth century for cassiterite and copper ores, the site experienced hydrothermal mineral deposition that filled fractures and breccia pipes in the surrounding host rock. Among the secondary and accessory minerals formed during these magmatic-hydrothermal events is scheelite, a heavy calcium tungstate mineral that appears at the locality as well-formed, yellowish-brown to translucent dipyramidal crystals. The mine became known to collectors for producing sharp scheelite specimens, often associated with quartz, fluorite, and tourmaline, though active collecting today is limited as commercial mining at the property has long since ceased.

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