Willemseite in Quartz
specimen number:
8911095
location:
Skzklary Mine, Zabkowice, Lower Silesia, Poland
description: The Szklary Mine, located near Zabkowice Slaskie in Lower Silesia, Poland, is a renowned historical mining site situated within a serpentinite massif that formed through the intense hydrothermal alteration and weathering of ultramafic rocks over tens of millions of years. Open-pit and underground mining operations began in the late nineteenth century to extract rich nickel ore, primarily in the form of green chrysoprase and nickel-bearing minerals, which were processed locally until the mine ceased commercial operations in the late twentieth century. In addition to commercial nickel production, the locality became famous among mineral collectors for producing exceptional specimens of vibrant green chrysoprase, chalcedony, opal, and rare pegmatite minerals discovered within the altered serpentinites. Today, the abandoned mine cuts and surrounding dumps remain an iconic Polish geological landmark, drawing historians, collectors, and researchers who study its unique supergene ore body and collect residual micro-minerals and colorful gem materials.
Attractive mass of gemmy green quartz, the green color due to inclusions throughout of willemseite. This is a variety of the species often called chrysoprase. This has been cut and polished across the front and is very pretty.
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