FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Tobi]

This Land does not have, by a long way, such a diversity of minerals as its southern neighbor Saxony, but its parts of the Harz Mountains were the source for some highly-desired mineral classics, first and foremost the legendary specimens of galena on siderite from Neudorf - that today are among the most expensive German minerals on the market.

[Andreas Gerstenberg]

What else is to mention? The Mansfeld basin with its excellent silver samples, betechtinite, maucherite, nickeline... And, of course, for the systematic lovers all the rare salt minerals with their many type localities in that Land.

[Jesse Fisher]

Fluorite and siderite from Harz Mountains, possibly Grube Louise near Rottleberolde. Ex Sorbonne and Herb Obodda collections.

[Andreas Gerstenberg]

Hello,

these siderite crystals in combination with white/colourless fluorite are typical for Stolberg (Luise mine). The location is always mixed up with Rottleberode, but there are two fluorite occurences. Rottleberode (Flußschacht mine) and Stolberg (Luise mine). What makes the whole thing more complicated is that one can often see typical green Rottleberode specimens marked "Luise mine" or vice versa. The classic Stolberg fluorites are sought after. The green Rottleberode fluorites 10 or 15 years ago were kind of a mineralogical off the shelf article. Today it´s hard to find a really good, undamaged specimen.

Best regards
Andreas

[Jesse Fisher]

Hello Andreas,

Thank you for the information. It is difficult to find good information on German locations in English language. Mindat lists Luise Mine as being Rottleberode.

[Andreas Gerstenberg]

Hence it is a little bit confusing. I had to look it up... but it´s one district indeed, called Stolberg-Rottleberode. There are two veins, the Flußschächter/Backöfner vein (Rottleberode) and the Silberbach-Louiser vein (Stolberg). Silberbach was a known locale for huge baryte samples. The two shown fluorite/siderite specimens come from the Louise mine (Stolberg). The "classic stuff", i.e. the big sea-green fluorite crystals were found in the 1950s in the Backöfner vein, 2nd level, Flußschacht mine (Rottleberode). Here´s a smaller sample from Flußschacht mine.

[Jordi Fabre]

[Tobi]

[Tobi]

And another one (unfortunately not in my collection):

[GneissWare]

[chris]

Come guys, you know this one is for me.

[Andreas Gerstenberg]

Nice piece that...

[Tobi]

Another fluorite classic from Stolberg:

[Andreas Gerstenberg]

Crystallized nickeline, a real classic from the collection of Ernst Julius Fröbe, a mining director from Schwarzenberg/Erzgebirge and the uncle of the famous German actor Gerd Fröbe (James Bond, Edgar Wallace...).

[Tobi]

No words needed: