PERU!
I was in Peru about a month and a half ago buying specimens, here is the main update. Of particular note was a new find of rare clinoatacamite on chrysocolla coated quartz-- the crystals on most of these are highly lustrous and very distinct, unlike most of the earlier examples. For a rare mineral, they are actually quite beautiful. There was also a new find of bright purple amethyst (I only brought back a couple pieces, there werent many, and most were far too damaged.)
In general, the story from Peru remains the same-- better explosives and increased mechanization have largely ended the flow of sulfide specimens from many of the classic ore localities, though projects undertaken specifically for specimen recovery (the Lilly Mine, Racracancha, Palomo, Angelina, Pasto Bueno/ Mundo Nuevo) continue to yield specimens. Of those, Mundo Nuevo is currently dormant, and Palomo and Racracancha have not produced anything for some time. Regardless, with enough searching, there are always pretty rocks to be found
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A specimen hosting several rather large clusters of dark green and lustrous clinoatacamite set against a contrasting quartz-lined vug.
On an absuloute scale, this is probably the third best in the lot, and certainly one of my favorites-- the crystals visually stand out much more than you can tell from the pictures.
The majority of the examples I have seen have the crystals somewhat jumbled together, or set against dark green malachite matrixes. As a result, the crystals can be hard to properly appreciate. The contrasting background and distinct nature of the crystals and crystal clusters make the clinoatacamite on this piece easier to discern and appreciate.
I purchased a large lot of Lilly Mine material while in Peru, the bulk of the specimens were mainly just druses of quartz over chrysocolla or malachite, though there were a small quantity of these very rare clinoatacamite specimens as well.
This is one of the top clinoatacamites from the lot and an unusual example of the intersection between rarity and a macroscopic mineral that can actually be called aesthetic.
Clinoatacamite is a hydrous copper chloride.
A specimen of rare clinoatacamite, with a few crystals (including a nicely centered main one) scattered in a vug lined by contrasting quartz over chrysocolla.
The majority of the examples I have seen have the crystals somewhat jumbled together, or set against dark green malachite matrixes. As a result, the crystals can be hard to properly appreciate. The contrasting background and distinct nature of the crystals make the clinoatacamite on this piece much easier to discern and appreciate.
Clinoatacamite is a hydrous copper chloride.
A rich specimen of clinoatacamite, with hundreds of dark green crystals over malachite, chrysocolla, and selenite.
Clinoatacamite is a hydrous copper chloride.
A specimen of rare clinoatacamite, with a cluster of dark crystals on a matrix covered by nicely contrasting quartz.
The majority of the examples I have seen have the crystals somewhat jumbled together, or set against dark green malachite matrixes. As a result, the crystals can be hard to properly appreciate. The contrasting background and distinct nature of the crystals make the clinoatacamite on this piece much easier to discern and appreciate.
Clinoatacamite is a hydrous copper chloride.
A specimen of rare clinoatacamite, with a cluster of dark crystals set in a vug lines by nicely contrasting quartz over chrysocolla.
The crystal is lustrous, sizable, and much easier to see in person-- the focus on my camera and light set up made it difficult to adequately show the crystal, as it is in a vug.
The majority of the examples I have seen have the crystals somewhat jumbled together, or set against dark green malachite matrixes. As a result, the crystals can be hard to properly appreciate. The contrasting background and distinct nature of the crystals make the clinoatacamite on this piece much easier to discern and appreciate.
Clinoatacamite is a hydrous copper chloride.
A specimen of rare clinoatacamite, with a cluster of dark crystals on a matrix covered by nicely contrasting quartz over chrysocolla.
The majority of the examples I have seen have the crystals somewhat jumbled together, or set against dark green malachite matrixes. As a result, the crystals can be hard to properly appreciate. The contrasting background and distinct nature of the crystals make the clinoatacamite on this piece much easier to discern and appreciate.
Clinoatacamite is a hydrous copper chloride.
A specimen of rare clinoatacamite, with a few crystals scattered in a vug lined by contrasting quartz over chrysocolla.
The main crystal is sizable (0.7 cm) and lustrous, though at the back of the vug. It is shown in the closeup.
The majority of the examples I have seen have the crystals somewhat jumbled together, or set against dark green malachite matrixes. As a result, the crystals can be hard to properly appreciate. The contrasting background and distinct nature of the crystals make the clinoatacamite on this piece much easier to discern and appreciate.
Clinoatacamite is a hydrous copper chloride.
A beautiful example of sharp cubo-octahedral galena on a hemisphere of spiky quartz.
Some of the galena crystals have a dusting of minute seligmannite crystals (this can be seen in the bottom right hand image.)
As far as galena goes, these are probably some of the brightest cubooctahedral examples from anywhere-- second only to Bulgaria, in my opinions.
This mine has been producing specimens for about 7 years now, and examples were always plentiful in Peru. Unfortunately, no new material has been found in the last several months, and the locals are saying that the find has probably been exhausted.
This mine was officially closed sometime in the 90's, though the last several years of specimen production have been the work of small scale work conducted exclusively for specimens.
This locality and was featured in the March-April 2008 issue of the Mineralogical Record.
One of two examples of this unusual orpiment that I obtained on this trip. Usually, the orpiment at this mine forms mictrocrystalline masses with a somewhat light orange color, and if there is a barite association, the barite has crystallized over the orpiment.
On this piece, the matrix is actually a plate of barite. Orpiment has crystallized on both sides of the barite, forming odd orange globs with a very bright orange color.
There also seems to be a second generation of orpiment that has formed a lighter orange dusting that selectively highlights parts of the main orpiment clusters-- this is visible in the upper right image.
A big enargite specimen from a very small recent find in Peru, of a style that has not been found in years.
Enargite specimens are primarily known from Montana, Taiwan, and a couple localities in Peru. The first two locations have not produced specimens in decades, and the Peruvian mines have only produced small quantities of exceptionally ugly examples for the last several years.
This is a very rich specimen, the best example from a very small recent find. It all looks somewhat jumbled in the pictures, but the crystals appear much more distinct in person, and the piece more three dimensional overall.
Saw marks on the back.
A miniature specimen of orpiment with barite, from the La Libertad Mine. Not perfect, but in very good condition over all.
Specimens like this are not coming out of the mine anymore, and if they are being found the miners are unable to remove them from the mine. This one was held back in the old stock of a dealer.
A very interesting specimen of pyrite that has pseudomorphed (epimorphed?) pyrite. This specimen hosts the largest single psudomorphed crystal that I have seen ( 5 cm on edge).
I am fairly sure that the numerous small crystals are not epitaxial growths, as fractured surfaces on other pieces show internal voids between the replacement crystals. Either way, these are very unusual specimens-- I obtained two on my first trip to Peru a few years ago, there was another find a few months ago.
The many reflections and varying topography makes this piece hard to focus and single out the main pseudomorphed crystal, so I outlined the main crystal in green.
It is a lot more distinct and less jumbled in person... some of these are not too photogenic.
There is some shearing on the left side of the specimen, but the main crystal is intact.
I had a several on my shelf in Tucson and sold all but one... on the internet however, they tend to sit. This probably has something to do with the fact that they come across in pictures as massive jumbles of tiny crystals.
A very interesting specimen of pyrite that has pseudomorphed pyrite. There are 4 particularly distinct pseudos, the largest one is 3.0 cm on its longest edge.
I am fairly sure that the numerous small crystals are not epitaxial growths, as fractured surfaces on other pieces show internal voids between the replacement crystals. Either way, these are very unusual specimens-- I obtained two on my first trip to Peru a few years ago, there was another find a few months ago.
The many reflections and varying topography makes this piece hard to focus and single out the main pseudomorphed crystals, so I outlined them in green.
It is a lot more distinct and less jumbled in person... some of these are not too photogenic.
I had a several on my shelf in Tucson and sold all but one... on the internet however, they tend to sit. This probably has something to do with the fact that they come across in pictures as massive jumbles of tiny crystals.
A very interesting specimen of pyrite that has pseudomorphed pyrite.
I am fairly sure that the numerous small crystals are not epitaxial growths, as fractured surfaces on other pieces show internal voids between the replacement crystals. Either way, these are very unusual specimens-- I obtained two on my first trip to Peru a few years ago, there was another find a few months ago.
The many reflections and varying topography makes this piece hard to focus and single out the main pseudomorphed crystals.
It is a lot more distinct and less jumbled in person... some of these are not too photogenic.
I had a several on my shelf in Tucson and sold all but one... on the internet however, they tend to sit. This probably has something to do with the fact that they come across in pictures as massive jumbles of tiny crystals.
A large cabinet specimen of orpiment, covered in prismatic realgar.
There is some damage, notably around the patch on the lower right part of the specimen.
Specimens like this are not coming out of the mine anymore, and if they are being found the miners are unable to remove them from the mine. This one was held back in the old stock of a dealer
A perfect, damage free and rather sculptural pyrite specimen from the Racracancha mine. Racracancha has produced mainly cubic pyrite, virtually always with striated faces, and this is a particularly large example.
As is unfortunately the case with most Peruvian specimen mines (Racracancha is operated exclusively for specimens) a lack of heavy machinery means that miners are confined mainly to old workings. Very little good material has been found over the last two years, and most of what has been recovered over that interval is simply massive pyrite, not crystaline.
Fine crystalline examples like this were never common-- damage is almost always present.
Racracancha is a long abandoned mine, which around 2007 was rediscovered by local miners who for the last few years have been working to extract mineral specimens. The mine is most notable for its striated pyrites, included calcites, and manganocalcites.
A cluster of bright octahedral pyrite crystals on a contrasting matrix. The bulk of pyrite specimens from this mine are packed clusters of crystals, but there is actually some space between them on this specimen.
Pyrite has long been a staple of the Peruvian mineral dealers, though since Fujimori's privatization program caused many mines to come under the control of foreign multinationals (Huanzala included) specimen production at many of the most famous mineral localities has severely slowed or stopped all together, a result of increased mechanization, better explosives, and changes in company policy. I often hear older collectors balking at the pyrite prices at shows-- once upon a time you could buy this stuff by the pound, but the fact is that even in Peru, you will not find them cheaply-- especially good ones.
This is an older piece from a collector in Peru, and an example of material that is no longer quite as plentiful as it once was.
A cluster of bright octahedral pyrite crystals on a contrasting matrix. The bulk of pyrite specimens from this mine are packed clusters of crystals, but there is actually some space between them on this specimen.
Pyrite has long been a staple of the Peruvian mineral dealers, though since Fujimori's privatization program caused many mines to come under the control of foreign multinationals (Huanzala included) specimen production at many of the most famous mineral localities has severely slowed or stopped all together, a result of increased mechanization, better explosives, and changes in company policy. I often hear older collectors balking at the pyrite prices at shows-- once upon a time you could buy this stuff by the pound, but the fact is that even in Peru, you will not find them cheaply-- especially good ones.
This is an older piece from a collector in Peru, and an example of material that is no longer quite as plentiful as it once was.
A cluster of bright pyrite cubes, including a somewhat odd main crystal with a rough stripe passing through the center. I am not sure what caused it, but it gives the piece a nice focal point.
Racracancha is a long abandoned mine, which around 2007 was rediscovered by local miners who for the last few years have been working to extract mineral specimens. The mine is most notable for its striated pyrites, included calcites, and manganocalcites.
A beautiful example of bright green and unusually gemmy augellite crystals set against a contrasting quartz matrix.
In the bottom two images, you can even see a Japanese law twin positioned just next to the augellites.
Another new find, deep purple amethyst crystals on a quartz matrix, from a quarry in Ica, a coastal area about 200 km south of Lima.
I have seen amethyst from Peru in the past, but the color has never been particularly deep.
The specimens from this new occurrence however, are another story. The color is every bit as deep as Uruguay, and probably even a bit brighter.
Another new find, deep purple amethyst crystals on a quartz matrix, from a quarry in Ica, a coastal area about 200 km south of Lima.
I have seen amethyst from Peru in the past, but the color has never been particularly deep.
The specimens from this new occurrence however, are another story. The color is every bit as deep as Uruguay, and probably even a bit brighter.
