Calcite, Pyrite, Dolomite

An excellent, undamaged honey-brown calcite crystal with fine translucency, attractively perched on a dolomite matrix lightly sprinkled with pyrite and sphalerite. A well-balanced and display-worthy small cabinet specimen with strong overall aesthetics.

The specimen comes from the Nanisivik Mine on northern Baffin Island, roughly 750 km north of the Arctic Circle, one of the world’s most northerly operating base-metal mines. Active from 1976 until its closure in 2002, Nanisivik produced zinc and lead from Mississippi Valley–type mineralization hosted in dolostone. Today, the mine is legendary among collectors for its distinctive and often beautifully crystallized specimens, making examples such as this increasingly scarce and highly desirable.