Stibiconite after Stibnite

specimen number:
2063362

location:
Wadley, Catorce, San Luis Potosi, Mexico

description:
Old Mexican classic, this had been a grouping of sharp terminated fix crystals of stibnite, these now replaced by earthy yellow brown non-lustrous stibiconite. In good condition all around. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark. The label notes that he acquired the piece during a trip to Mexico in the early 1970s.

Situated in the Catorce Municipality of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, Wadley is a famous historical mining district located in the high-desert terrain of the Sierra de Catorce. Geologically, the deposit consists of antimony-rich hydrothermal veins hosted within Jurassic- to Cretaceous-age sedimentary strata, predominantly limestone and shale. Mining operations in the area initially targeted antimony ore during the 19th and 20th centuries, but Wadley became world-renowned among mineral collectors for its exceptional pseudomorphs of yellow-brown stibiconite completely replacing sharp, elongated prisms of primary stibnite. Artisanal miners hand-collected these distinct specimens throughout the mid-20th century, making them definitive classics from Mexican mineral localities.

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