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Bolivian Assorted Minerals
$400 or Less
Page 2
Enjoy !!
No. Stann Bol 7071
Stannite (multiple twins) with Pyrite -
$300 (SOLD)
From the impressive find of 2004.
This boom at the San Jose mine
gave us a plethora of top notch sulfides, the likes of which may never
be matched from any mine in Bolivia.
This find produced record setting Andorite and Potosiite
specimens, but also produced some of the finest Stannites ever found
from any world locality.
This large thumbnail specimen hosts a "snowman" like trio of sharp,
silvery brass colored twinned crystals descending in size (or ascending
depending upon how the piece is displayed)
of the rare copper iron tin sulfide Stannite which is associated
with some small lustrous Pyrite crystals.
Most of the Stannites from this find were single twins off matrix
and rarely does one see multiple twins intergrown like this.
The small Pyrite crystals also give the piece some additional
character There were
only a handful of these specimens, and for my money, they are superior
to many of the Stannites from
China
because the Chinese specimens are usually composite crystal groups
consisting of many smaller crystals to form a larger aggregate.
Locality:
San Jose mine,
Oruro City,
Cercado
Province,
Oruro Department, Bolivia.
Specimen Size:
3.1 x 2.0 x 2.0 cm.
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No. Stann Andor Bol 7072
Stannite (twin) with Andorite -
$195 (SOLD)
From the impressive find of 2004.
This boom at the San Jose mine
gave us a plethora of top notch sulfides, the likes of which may never
be matched from any mine in Bolivia.
This find produced record setting Andorite and Potosiite
specimens, but also produced some of the finest Stannites ever found
from any world locality.
This full size thumbnail specimen hosts a relatively large, sharp,
silvery brass colored twinned crystal of the rare copper iron tin
sulfide Stannite which is associated with a few steel grey, striated
tabular crystals of Andorite.
Most of the Stannites from this find were single twins off matrix
and without associations, and even though the Andorite is small, I think
it makes for a nice accent on this specimen.
There were only a handful of these specimens, and for my money,
they are superior to many of the Stannites from China because
the Chinese specimens are usually composite crystal groups consisting of
many smaller crystals to form a larger aggregate.
Locality:
San Jose mine,
Oruro City,
Cercado
Province,
Oruro Department, Bolivia.
Specimen Size:
2.5 x 2.1 x 1.8 cm.
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No. Arsen Bol 7071
Arsenopyrite on Quartz -
$150 (SOLD)
Chicote Grande is probably best known for its superb
"Japan"-law twinned Quartz specimen (which are sometimes associated with
contrasting black Ferberite crystals), but the mine does not get enough
credit for its wonderful Arsenopyrite specimens.
Years ago, my father acquired several very good quality
Arsenopyrite specimens from this mine.
The Chicote Grande mine has not produced specimens in many years,
but was once a great source for specimens in its day.
This specimen came from my father's personal Bolivian collection
and is one of the better quality Arsenopyrites I've seen from this mine.
It features several razor sharp, rather lustrous, silvery
metallic bladed crystals forming a very attractive crystal cluster
sitting atop gemmy prismatic colorless Quartz crystals.
Fine crystallized Arsenopyrites from this mine are not common,
and rarely seen on the market these days.
Locality: Chicote Grande
mine, Inquisivi
Province, La Paz Department, Bolivia.
Specimen Size: 4.6 x 3.0 x 1.5 cm.
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Arsen Bol 7072
Arsenopyrite on Quartz -
$250 (SOLD)
Chicote Grande is probably best known for its superb
"Japan"-law twinned Quartz specimen (which are sometimes associated with
contrasting black Ferberite crystals), but the mine does not get enough
credit for its wonderful Arsenopyrite specimens.
Years ago, my father acquired several very good quality
Arsenopyrite specimens from this mine.
The Chicote Grande mine has not produced specimens in many years,
but was once a great source for specimens in its day.
This specimen came from my father's personal Bolivian collection
and is one of the better quality Arsenopyrites I've seen from this mine.
It features several rather sharp, lustrous, silvery metallic
"chisel"-shaped crystals in a fan-like orientation which are associated
with stubby colorless Quartz crystals.
The main crystals at the front of the specimen are all undamaged
and very attractive. Fine
crystallized Arsenopyrites from this mine are not common, and rarely
seen on the market these days.
Locality: Chicote Grande
mine, Inquisivi
Province, La Paz Department, Bolivia.
Specimen Size: 4.6 x 3.0 x 1.5 cm.
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No. Metast Bol 7071
Metastibnite with Pyrite -
$125 (RESERVED)
I know I told everybody that I didn't have any more of
these specimens left, but I stumbled upon this piece a few days ago, so
I'm giving everybody a fair chance to purchase it by listing it in the
gallery. Metastibnite is a
relatively rare antimony sulfide and is dimorphous with Stibnite.
I was very proud to obtain a few of these wonderful, unique and
interesting Metastibnite specimens from Bolivia, which were collected in the
Fall of 2003. Before this
discovery, Metastibnite was only known as amorphous specs and was never
considered to be a colletor's species, although it has been around for
over 100 years. These new
specimens redefined the species for quality and size, but the fact that
these are crystallized specimens, make them truly desirable for
collectors. This specimen
features lustrous, rich silver color, botryoidal crystal group of this
rare sulfides associated with micro Pyrite crystals.
Less than 10% of the Metastibnite specimens were associated with
Pyrite from this discovery, and despite the fact that the "spheres" on
this specimen are smaller than others I've offered, the association is
uncommon for sure. If you're
a species collector, this one is for you.
There are no more of these specimens, so I suggest if you want
one, do not hesitate.
Locality:
San Jose mine,
Oruro City,
Cercado
Province,
Oruro Department, Bolivia.
Specimen Size:
4.1 x 3.2 x 1.7 cm.
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No. Andor Bol 7071
Andorite -
$145 (SOLD)
From the amazing find in November 2004.
Andorite is lead, silver, antimony sulfosalt and was named for
the Hungarian mineral collector Andor von Semsey (1833-1923), who holds
a remarkable distinction for having two mineral species named after him
(Andorite and semseyite). I
personally acquired the entire lot of ALL the top crystals that came
into the U.S. in late
2004 through early 2005, of which many experts considered to be such a
significant find, that it completely redefined Andorite as a
crystallized species. This
mine at Oruro dates Spanish mining as far back as the year 1595 and was
mined by Incan Indians for several centuries prior.
In all the years of mining, these are undoubtedly the world's
finest Andorites extant!
These specimens were extracted from the same vein system worked by the
father of Bolivian mineralogy, Federico Ahlfeld. Ahlfeld worked the
San Jose mine and Itos mine (the other significant Andorite
locality at the same mountain in Oruro) when the mines were used predominantly as a major
sources of tin to the
United States during WWII.
It was highly implausible that a find of this magnitude would
ever happen considering the extensive work and time that had passed
since any notable Andorite specimens had made their way out of Bolivia.
I debuted the best of these specimens in Tucson two years ago, and
they were very well received by all who saw them.
I will say with that we may never again see a find of Andorite
this significant from any locality.
Andorite is one of my favorite species from Bolivia, hands down.
This thumbnail size specimen features excellent, sharp, highly
lustrous, striated, steel grey crystals of this rare lead, silver,
antimony sulfosalt. The
majority of the specimens from this find were merely single crystals off
matrix, but clusters such as this specimen only existed in about 5% of
the pieces found. I
will say that this is certainly one of the most aesthetic smaller
crystal groups from this find.
The majority of the crystals are in pristine condition.
It is very difficult to find any samples of this mineral on the
market today, and until very recently, the locality had not produced
specimens in MANY years. This is a wonderful opportunity to own a superb
specimen of this extraordinarily rare mineral species.
Locality:
San Jose mine,
Oruro City,
Cercado
Province,
Oruro Department, Bolivia.
Specimen Size:
2.4 x 1.8 x 0.5 cm.
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No. Ferb Bol 7071
Ferberite (doubly-terminated twin) -
$400 (SOLD)
The mine at Tasna has produced some of the finest
Ferberite specimens in the world, easily rivaling the best pieces from
the Panasqueira mine in Portugal or the Yaoganxian mine in China.
The finest TWINNED Ferberites in the world come from this mine,
and they simply have no rival from any world locality.
This species was sometimes previously referred to as
"Wolframite", which was supposed to be an intermediary species between
Ferberite and Hubnerite, but has since been discredited.
From the historic find of 2005 (virtually every piece from this
find came through my hands) this particular is a relatively large
twinned crystal of Ferberite, but the fact that it is doubly-terminated
makes all the difference. It
is a fantastic small cabinet size specimen with superb form.
This piece exhibits the classic, "butterfly" twinning of
Ferberite along the a <i>(100) </i> face, and is more or less a "closed"
twin as it does not show a deep reentrant angle on the twinning plane.
It is an impressive, sharp, semi lustrous, aesthetic, jet-black
twinned crystal with another attractive sidecar twin flaring off the
edge of the specimen. This
piece is displayable from several angles, and is quite hefty as
Ferberites tend to be in this size.
This piece does have a few small nicks, but it is complete on the
display side. Considering
the size, aesthetics, quality and overall appeal, this piece is very
competitively priced. These
Ferberite twins are highly sought after as this find set a new standard
of excellence for twinned Ferberites around the world.
Fine twins occur in only about 10 percent of all the specimens
I've seen from this mine, and doubly-terminated twins like this were
seen in only a handful of specimens.
Locality: Tasna mine, Rosario section of
Cerro Tasna, Atocha-Quechisla District, Nor Chichas Province,
Potosi, Department,
Bolivia.
Specimen Size:
6.0 x 4.1 x 3.8 cm.
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No. Cass Bol 7071
Cassiterite twin on Quartz -
$175 (SOLD)
Bolivia
has probably produced more tin than any other country in the world.
Keep in mind that thousands of tons of tin ore were mined and
exported to the United States
from Bolivia to help
with the war effort during WWII.
The great tin mines at Viloco (sometimes called Araca) have
produced some of the most magnificent Cassiterite specimens extant.
Viloco is definitely one of the most classic of all Cassiterite
localities in the world, and has stood the test of time against many
other world locales. Here we
have a very attractive large thumbnail size specimen featuring a
beautiful, sharp, lustrous, gemmy brown, heart-shaped (cyclic) twinned
crystal of Cassiterite aesthetically perched atop white Quartz crystal
matrix. The specimen
displays very well without the aid of a stand or clay.
Please note that the back side of the twin is contacted, but the
damage is not visible from the display side of specimen.
Viloco is the only mine in
Bolivia
that produces gem quality Cassiterite crystals, and this twin shows
excellent zones of gemminess, as I have tried to illustrate in the
photos. I have a very
difficult time obtaining fine quality matrix Cassiterites from Viloco,
and this piece dates back to over 30 years ago when my father acquired
it directly at the mine.
Locality:
Viloco mine, Loayza
Province, La Paz Department, Bolivia
Specimen Size:
3.1 x 2.8 x 2.4 cm.
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No. Bourn Bol 7071
Bournonite -
$295
Over the last 10 years or so, Machacamarca has
produced some of the best Bolivian Bournonite specimens ever found.
The diversity of habits and superb quality of the crystals that
have come out over the years has set this mine apart as one of the
premier localities for the species.
Most people are familiar with the new Chinese Bournonites on the
market, and because Bolivia does not receive nearly as much
attention, I want people to know that I have personally handled some of
the finest Bournonite specimens from any locality in the
Western Hemisphere that came from this mine.
This piece features dozens of modified tabular crystals of
Bournonite with a lovely, gun metal luster sitting atop a mound of micro
crystallized Quartz and associated with small Pyrite "balls".
There are some additional complexly crystallized Bournonites on
the specimen which are a testament to the fact that many of the
Bournonite specimens from this mine show multiple crystal habits on the
same specimen.
Locality:
Viboras section, Machacamarca, near Colavi, Potosi Department, Bolivia
Specimen Size:
10.8 x 9.0 x 5.7 cm.
Largest Bournonite Crystal:
2.0 cm. across
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No. Bourn Bol 7072
Bournonite ("Cogwheels") -
$125 (SOLD)
Over the last 10 years or so, Machacamarca has
produced some of the best Bolivian Bournonite specimens ever found.
The diversity of habits and superb quality of the crystals that
have come out over the years has set this mine apart as one of the
premier localities for the species.
Most people are familiar with the new Chinese Bournonites on the
market, and because Bolivia does not receive nearly as much
attention, I want people to know that I have personally handled some of
the finest Bournonite specimens from any locality in the
Western Hemisphere that came from this mine.
One of the most classic habits for Bournonite is the so called
"cogwheel" form that occurs when crystals are twinned along the "m"
prism face of crystals. Some
of the most well known examples of this habit were found at the
Herodsfoot mine in St Just and Wheal Boys mine in Endellion,
Cornwall, England.
This piece is a highly aesthetic specimen showing the classic
"cogwheel" twinning with great reentrant angles between the "cogs".
The piece is has a charming
gun metal luster and is nearly a "floater" as it is crystallized
about 99% of the way around.
It is in amazingly fine condition, and with so many of the Chinese
"cogwheels" on the market (most of which are riddled with damage hosting
very high prices), this piece is an apparent bargain for the size and
quality. It was a very
difficult specimen to photograph, but looks amazing in person.
A great thumbnail sized specimen from this lesser recognized
Bolivian locality.
Locality:
Viboras section, Machacamarca, near Colavi, Potosi Department, Bolivia
Specimen Size:
2.1 x 1.4 x 1.3 cm.
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