Quartz

QuartzA beautifully crystallized specimen of Quartz from the lesser known Dawn of Day mine in San Juan County. The piece comprises several radiating groups of sparkling, lustrous, stubby Quartz crystals which are included with what, presumably, is some kind of iron oxide to create the soft orange internal color. Great condition overall and seldom seen on the market. Collected by Robert Stoufer in 2009. Specimen# CO712B163

The gentle color is caused by minor amounts of iron oxide

but it is a bit more muted in person

At one point it was a euhedral gem crystal but

the word copal is used to describe a hardened resinous substance which is found in an intermediate stage of hardening and polymerization between softer / "gummier" resins and amber

It's hard to find cabinet sized specimens like this from the Champion Mine

striated "Spinel"-twins

The reverse side of the specimen is contacted

“sword”-shaped prismatic crystal of Vivianite which is associated with beautifully contrasting golden Siderite and Childrenite aggregates

while the basal terminations have more of a matte luster

There are two key aspects to this specimen that make it not only fine quality but as good as nearly anything I've seen from anywhere in Myanmar

A wonderful textbook example of these beautiful "Spinel"-twins

Spinel is a must have species