FLUORITE with PYRITE

SPECIMEN DESCRIPTION

Despite being known from Panasqueira mine, Fluorite in good crystals is very rare and the species hardly gets mentioned in comparison with Fluorapatite and Ferberite. In that respect, this cabinet-sized display specimen from Nick Hawes' collection is a real beauty. The Fluorite crystals are admittedly small - reaching a maximum of 6 mm on edge - but with appropriate strong directional lighting they look stunning. Deep purple in colour, the scattered individual, and occasionally twinned cubic crystals display a really fine intense colour and translucency, with prominent internal zoning as bands, often with a deeper purple core. Seated as they are upon a paler (grey-green) background of Chlorite they really stand out. Minor Pyrite microcrystals are sparsely scattered across the display surface as flashes of gold. The specimen is mounted on an acryllic base for display. If you are looking for a Panasqueira mine specimen with a difference then this could be of interest.