Detailed information
Dimensions
29 x 43 x 23
mm
Locality
Franklin Mine Sussex County New Jersey, USA
Condition
No recorded repairs
The Franklin mines in Sussex County, New Jersey, exploited one of the most complex orebodies on Earth, famed for its diversity of mineralisation and the world capital of fluorescent minerals. The Franklin mining district is host to 273 recognised species and is type locality to an amazing 49! This superb small miniature Zincite forms deep cherry red to rich orange red crystals and infillings, all aligned to the foliation of the matrix. The two crystals form elongated prisms to 1 cm long with parallel prism faces and pyramidal terminations. One crystal is more complete than the other, although neither are sharply defined. Despite this, it must be recognised natural Zincite crystals are extremely rare. Zincite has two co-type localities, one here at the Franklin mine and the other at Sterling Hill mine at Ogdensburg, at the opposite end of the outcrop in syncline-hosted deposit. The matrix is a mixture of what appears to be white Calcite, although this does not fluoresce, granular black Franklinite and patches of massive green-fluorescing Willemite. This is a lovely old-time specimen accompanied with three labels: one from Dr Otto Runge of Delaware, dated August 23, 1941, and one ex. the A.E. Seaman Museum at Michigan Technological University. This small miniature is mounted on a bevelled clear acrylic base.
