FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[bob kerr]

I purchased this nice specimen of Fluorite on Galena at the recent Tucson show but the dealer didn't seem all that confident in the locality - he did give me his opinion of the locality, but could I please get opinions from the FMF members?

I'm hoping that the Galena habit and Fluorite association will make identification possible.

I will reveal what the dealer told me after I get a few other thoughts.

thanks,
bob

[Matt_Zukowski]

My initial reaction is Naica, but the pic looks a little too blurry to me to really see the habit of either the fluorite or galena. You may get a better response if you provide some closeups of both species. Also show better what looks like mixed sulfides on the left side of the picture.

[Tobi]

Fully agree with Matt: First guess is Naica, but better photos could help, thanks :-)

[bob kerr]

My apologies for the less than good photo quality - I am away from my better camera gear so these are from an iphone - I tried again and here's some other attempts - one is the bottom of the specimen showing either pyrite or chalcopyrite.

I hope the galena form is shown better here - the fluorites are so clear as to be almost invisible.

Thanks for the Naica thought - a hint - it is not what the dealer told me.

bob

[Tobi]

I would still say it looks like typical Naica material.

[Bob Morgan]

Might I suggest Dalnegorsk? I think I discern fluorite shapes that come from there - trapezohedral corners on cubes. The galena certainly could be from there.

[John Betts]

[Steve Maslansky]

Here is one of my pieces from Naica. Looks similar.

[Edelmin]

Although my first impression is also Naica, what about Huanzalá? Perhaps it is not the most typical fluorite from Huanzalá but that association with sulphides may also suggest that locality.

[bob kerr]

OK - thanks for the input - all three options are good possibilities, and each has some issues also.

I got this piece from the ROC 3000 dealership - they had maybe 4 pieces of this material but I thought this one was the best. ROC 3000 is not known for really nice minerals but frequently they have wonderful material.

They said that this specimen was from Casapalca, Peru. I asked if they were sure and they were not all that confident. But given their large quantity of material from Brazil and Peru it seemed a good possibility. I also looked the Mindat photos for "Galena Casapalca" and didn't find anything that could be used to confirm this locality.

ROC 3000 has practically no material from Dalnegorsk so I ruled that out - that and the fact that the Fluorite form does not say Dalnegorsk to me at all. The galena does look like Dalnegorsk though.

They also have very little Mexican material and although the Fluorite says Naica to me, the galena crystal forms do not - the galena twinning is extensive here and Naica doesn't seem to produce this.

So, given that ROC 3000 deals extensively in South American material, I think it's reasonable to conclude that this piece is from Peru - weather it's Huanzala, Casapalca or another locality is not clear.

Comments?
thanks,
bob

[James Catmur]

I did consider Peru, but forgot to say so. The Galena and Pyrite look right