A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

F.

PENTLANDITE – New acquisitions include specimens from six Eastern Canadian localities.  Five of the localities are within the Sudbury District (AKA Sudbury nickel irruptive, Sudbury astrobleme).  Astrobleme is a geological term given to this ancient weathered impact structure, meaning "star wound."  The immense Sudbury ringed structure, 60 km long and 27 km across, is thought by researchers to be the remnants of a ringed structure produced by a direct blow delivered courtesy of one of the largest asteroids / bolides ever to have impacted this planet.  Approximately 1.87 billion years ago, give or take a few millennia, a cataclysmic event of almost unfathomable proportions took place a few kilometers north of present day Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.  This event, involving a gigantic nine kilometer diameter asteroid / bolide, traveling at 30 kilometers per second, slamming into the earth with an impact force equivalent to the detonation of several billion tons of TNT, caused a ring of mainly blast debris and fallout material to form around the upper portions of its original crater.  The resultant deposition of ore minerals provided one of the world's richest and most diverse Ni-Co-Cu deposits, buried below the structure.  For additional background information on this unique deposit, please see the following:

http://esci.unco.edu/faculty/morrow/TOC%20Course/Sudbury_talk_abs.htm

All specimens are rich, to very rich, with varying amounts of associated matrix.  Gram weights are given as a measure of size – the specimens are not priced by the gram. 

Location 1. – Copper Cliff North / South Mines, McKim Township, Sudbury District, Ontario, Canada – From one of the ore deposits situated within the Sudbury Complex, these specimens are rich, to very rich metallic bronze color Pentlandite associated with Chalcopyrite and / or Millerite, all in massive form. Note that specimens F. and I. are a pair, trimmed from the same larger specimen.  If purchased as a pair, a 10% discount is applicable, as follows:  F. $100.00 + I. $160.00 = $260.00 - 10% discount -$26.00 = $234.00 / pair.  Specimens are individually labeled as to which mine they are from. The mineral assemblage is virtually identical.

G.

H.

I.

PENTLANDITE
Location 2. – Frood Mine, McKim Township, Sudbury District, Ontario, Canada – The single specimen from the Frood Mine, a nickel mine in the Sudbury District, is basically a combination of very rich metallic bronze color Pentlandite associated with small amounts of Chalcopyrite and / or Pyrrhotite, without rock matrix.  The front of the specimen has been sawed to expose the structure of the various intergrown metallic minerals, as shown in the accompanying photo.

PENTLANDITE
Location 3.  Fraser Mine, Levack Township, Sudbury District, Ontario, Canada – Specimens available from the Fraser Mine consist of massive metallic bronze color Pentlandite associated with minor cleavages of bright golden-brassy Millerite and small amounts of metallic yellow-golden color massive Chalcopyrite, in a dark green Actinolite matrix.  Epidote is often associated.

C.

D.

PENTLANDITE
Location 4. – Strathcona Mine, Levack Township, Sudbury District, Ontario, Canada – The Strathcona Mine is perhaps the best known of mines in the district.  It is primarily a nickel mine, with workings in excess of 4,000 feet deep (> 1,100 meters).  Items A., B., D., and E. each have a small amount of matrix, and item C. is a pure aggregate of the ore minerals without rock matrix.  Minerals present include varying amounts of Pentlandite, Chalcopyrite, and / or Pyrrhotite.

D.

E.

PENTLANDITE
Location 5 – Onaping Mine, Sudbury District, Ontario, Canada – The Onaping Mine was a nickel mine, closed in 1982. These specimens consist of varying amounts of metallic bronze color Pentlandite and metallic bronze-brown color Pyrrhotite, with minor Chalcopyrite.  In some areas, the Pentlandite can be seen surrounding “eyes” or cores of Pyrrhotite.  The specimens below were obtained from a private collection, not recently mined.  The dark colored matrix is typical of specimens from this vicinity.  All have been cut with a lapidary saw to expose the texture / richness of the ore. The structure of the ore is easier to see over the cut surfaces, and the minerals are very easy to identify over the cut surfaces because of their distinctive metallic colors and cleavage, or lack of it.  Item A. has been cut on three sides, and polished.  Item B. is an end cut, with a natural back.  Items C. and D. are slices.

C.

D.

PENTLANDITE
Location 6.  – Voisey’s Bay Mine, Voisey’s Bay, Newfoundland / Labrador, Canada – This remote locality, situated outside of the Sudbury District, produces specimens with a mineral assemblage similar to specimens found within the Sudbury District, described above.   The primary minerals include Chalcopyrite, Pentlandite, and Nickeloan Pyrrhotite.  Both specimens also exhibit tiny black masses of Magnetite included within the ore. These specimens are from a very rich section of the orebody where the minerals formed as intergrown veinlets and masses.  Both specimens are matrix-free, and each has two saw cut surfaces.  The structure of the ore is easier to see over the cut surfaces, and the minerals are very easy to identify over the cut surfaces because of their distinctive metallic colors and cleavage, or lack of it.

CHALCOPYRITE / PENTLANDITE - Copper Cliff North Mine, McKim Township, Sudbury District, Ontario, Canada – Two beautiful cut specimens of the Chalcopyrite / Pentlandite ore from the Copper Cliff Mine were recently acquired from a collection of Canadian minerals.  As illustrated in the accompanying photos, the rich metallic golden-brassy color massive Chalcopyrite has included veinlets of darker, metallic bronze color Pentlandite.  Item A. has one cut surface, and a natural back.  Item B. has two cut surfaces.
 

MILLERITE – New acquisitions include specimens from two locations within the Sudbury District.  The Millerite from the Sudbury District is very unusual, exhibiting bright metallic golden-brassy cleavages (not hairy!).

Location 1. – Strathcona Mine, Levack Township, Sudbury District, Ontario, Canada – Three very nice examples of Millerite, exhibiting bright metallic golden-brassy cleavages, are available from the Strathcona Mine.  See the accompanying photos for more details.  Items A. and B. are pure intergrowths of Millerite / Pentlandite / Chalcopyrite, and item C. has a small amount of matrix.

MILLERITE
Location 2. – McCreedy West Mine, Levack Township, Sudbury District, Ontario, Canada – Similar to the mineral assemblage from the Strathcona Mine, with the same bright metallic golden-brassy Millerite cleavages, these specimens are combinations of  Millerite cleavages with metallic bronze color Pentlandite, and / or metallic golden-brassy color Chalcopyrite, as illustrated.

C.

D.

ANTHRAXOLITE – Chelmsford, Balfour Township, Sudbury District, Ontario, Canada – Anthraxolite is a hydrocarbon compound that possesses neither a definite chemical composition, nor atomic structure.  This one of a kind specimen has very rich amounts of shiny black Anthraxolite associated with a small amount of Quartz matrix.

Specimen size:  2 1/2” X 1 7/8” X 1 3/8”  117.70 grams
Order Item MI-1238
Price:  $45.00

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