Stibiconite on Stibnite

Masses of intergrown, long acicular, silver-black Stibnite crystals to over 1.5 cm long are coated in a pervasive film of matt mustard yellow Stibiconite. This lovely example is a miniature (a largeish miniature) from the Baia Sprie mining district in Maramureș County, Romania and comes with a printed and typed M. Ruppe (Neustadt) card label. The Stibiconite covering Stibnite forms a roughly 5 x 4 cm x 2.5 cm high mound on a 1.5 cm thick matrix plate of Quartz and mixed sulphides. Please note, although the crystals on this specimen are perfectly stable, they are delicate and so the specimen requires careful handling. Providing it is picked up by holding the matrix on its edges, there is no danger of damaging the acicular crystals with the diameter of fine needles.