Bournonite on QuartzThis piece was collected in August of 2009 and is one of the few matrix Bournonites I have to offer. An eye catching specimen hosting a sharp, lustrous, silvery bladed crystal of metallic Bournonite on iron stained micro crystallized Quartz. It is a small miracle that the piece was not completely destroyed in the blast when it was found, let alone the fact that the crystal stayed on matrix! Specimen # BOL711B24

these specimens are the first ever Hopeites from South America

the Ferberites from Tasna are not found on matrix as they are heavy in nature and the brittleness of the species causes it to fall off the host rock in the blast during mining operations

this piece is one of the better samples of this particular material that I have handled

and obtaining specimens is next to impossible because miners rarely bring out anything for sale

Specimen # BOL711B264

I held this one back when the find was made

silvery colored classic “cogwheel”-twinned crystal group is aesthetically flaring off lustrous

You can read Willard's bio on the Mineralogical Record website

AND the fact that the crystals are on matrix

These were the first Barites that I personally ever acquired from Bolivia

the locality had not produced specimens in MANY years

and well crystallized pieces ON MATRIX like this are few and far between from any locality