Pyrite, Calcite

This excellent small-cabinet specimen is composed of sharp, lustrous pyrite cubes with strongly striated faces, the largest reaching approximately 26 mm. One end hosts a small but nicely formed, doubly terminated honey-coloured calcite crystal. The combination of cubic pyrite and calcite makes this a particularly eye-catching and sculptural display piece, especially with the little hole going through the centre.

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.