Wulfenite

This attractive specimen features lustrous, thick, gemmy wulfenite crystals with a rich yellow-orange colour. The crystals are translucent and display complex beveled edges, giving them a distinctive and eye-catching appearance. Interestingly, the square pinacoidal faces reveal an internal diamond-shaped form, likely reflecting their original growth habit. These features are particularly striking under magnification, making the specimen especially rewarding for close examination.

Collected from the historic 79 Mine in Gila County, Arizona a locality originally discovered way back in 1879. The Mine is a former underground lead-zinc deposit with a long and complex history of ownership and production. Over the decades, it has yielded a wide variety of colourful and well-crystallized minerals, including outstanding examples of smithsonite, hemimorphite, aurichalcite, and wulfenite.

Although the mine is currently closed to the public, recent renewed activity under new ownership has sparked a resurgence in fine specimen recovery. Today, the 79 Mine remains an iconic and important locality for collectors of fine Arizona minerals.