Galena, Calcite, Quartz, Dolomite

A handsome miniature featuring bright metallic galena in association with white quartz, cream dolomite, and translucent calcite. The galena forms a lustrous, somewhat melted looking but sculptural aggregate. It comes from the Nikolayevsky Mine, located in the Rudny Altai mining district of eastern Kazakhstan. This mine is renowned for producing exceptional collector specimens of galena, sphalerite, quartz, calcite, fluorite, pyrite, and many other minerals. Developed as one of the region's major lead-zinc deposits, the mine became internationally famous during the late Soviet period for the quality and diversity of its mineral specimens. Today, attractive combination pieces from the locality remain highly sought after, particularly examples such as this that display multiple species in strong aesthetic contrast.