3 lbs Tangerine Hematoid Quartz with Wulfenite (4 pcs) - Collector Minerals L307
This set brings together an especially complete and sought-after oxidation-zone association: Hematoid Quartz in its Tangerine variety accompanied by Wulfenite, with the addition of translucent amber-honey and milky white quartz. The term Tangerine designates quartz crystals coated by a thin granular layer of limonite and goethite that gives them that vibrant tangerine-orange and golden color, while Wulfenite (lead molybdate, formula PbMoO4) provides the striking lemon-yellow to yellow-golden acicular and prismatic crystals, with adamantine to resinous luster, scattered over the matrix and on the edges of the cavities: a secondary lead mineral highly prized by collectors and typical of gossans. The combination of both on the quartz makes this lot a piece of great mineralogical and aesthetic interest.
The lot consists of 4 pieces of varied size with a combined weight of 3 lbs, making them specimens of great presence, ideal both for prominent display in a showcase and for detailed study. As spectacularly revealed by the macro photographs, the pieces show a multiple visual richness: one of them appears almost entirely covered by the granular orange-amber tangerine coating, with tips of white quartz emerging between the crust; another exhibits a cavity lined with translucent amber-honey and orange quartz with color zoning, surrounded by milky white quartz of notable vitreous luster and dotted by the lemon-yellow needles of wulfenite; and the rest alternate ferruginous matrix or gossan in ochre-brown to dark-brown with zones of translucent quartz. The contrast between the warm orange of the tangerine, the adamantine yellow of the wulfenite and the luminous transparency of the amber and white quartz creates a very attractive three-dimensional effect.
From the point of view of its formation, this specimen is an excellent geological document of a supergene paragenesis: first the quartz crystallized (white and amber zones); then, in the oxidation phase and fluid circulation, iron oxides (limonite and goethite, generating the tangerine and the gossan) precipitated on the quartz and the matrix and, under the same oxidizing conditions, wulfenite from the mobilized lead and molybdenum, crystallizing in its characteristic acicular and prismatic yellow habits. That superposition of phases explains the play of colors and textures observed and gives the piece its high educational value, by illustrating in a single specimen the crystallization of quartz and the secondary mineralization of iron and lead.
Due to its color, contrast, confirmed presence of acicular wulfenite, cavities with translucent quartz and size, this lot constitutes an exceptional opportunity for the collector looking for pieces with character, warm natural color and a visually very complete oxidation mineralogy, perfect both for mineralogical study and for prominent display in any collection.
SPECIFICATIONS:
- Quantity: 4 natural pcs.
- Total weight: 3 lbs.
- Minerals: Tangerine Hematoid Quartz with acicular Wulfenite and translucent amber-honey and white quartz; ferruginous matrix (gossan).
- Reference: 626 - Lot 307.
