Sphalerite & Quartz (Ref: 7079)

This wonderful and old-time Quartz-on Sphalerite specimen from the Kaiser Wilhelm Shaft in the Clausthal-Zellerfeld district occurs as superb, blocky, isometric Sphalerite crystals of blackish brown color and is nicely covered with glassy, glistening Quartz crystals. The Sphalerite here is extremely rich of faces, of excellent luster and the entire display face is, as far as I can see with the naked eye, pristine. A highly aesthetic and contrastful specimen which also has historical value as it comes from this specific mine. The Kaiser Wilhelm Shaft, or Kaiser Wilhelm II Shaft, was the central winding and ropeway shaft for the lead and zinc mining industry in Clausthal-Zellerfeld in the Upper Harz Mountains and was abandoned along with the entire mine in 1930. An absolute classic and hard to come by nowadays. The specimen comes with an original label of the Loorz collection.