Cerussite

A fine specimen featuring a translucent champagne-coloured cerussite crystal, doubly terminated and showing a short section of the prism between the terminations. The crystal shows characteristic cyclic twinning seen in other cerussites from this locality. It is perched on a slender vertical matrix composed largely of massive baryte with some associated galena. The cerussite appears to be in excellent condition.

While the Mibladen District of Morocco is world-famous for its vanadinite, the nearby Dalles Mine has produced some of the most distinctive cerussite specimens known. The recognizable crystal habit, particularly when combined with the pale baryte matrix, makes these pieces highly sought after by collectors. Interestingly, cerussites from this locality often show bright yellow fluorescence under longwave ultraviolet light, an unusual response, as cerussite typically does not fluoresce well if at all. This old-time specimen comes from the international mineral collection of Peter Tarassoff, who acquired it in 1981.