Baryte balls w/ Dolomite & Marcasite (Kay Robertson Coll.)

Item Description

Old-time unusual combination material from this ancient iron mine, abandoned in 1963. The mine is well-known for these weird looking iron oxide-tinted balls of microcrystalline barite. The balls are dramatically set atop the sculptural gossan matrix, that is peppered with patches of tiny, sharp, lustrous, orange-brown dolomite rhombs and scattered sparkly marcasite microcrystals. A single bleb of malachite is noted atop the isolated barite ball. Ex Kay Robertson Collection # 3503 and acquired from a German in 1964. Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record and the 50+ page article in the German Magazine "Mineralien Welt" November-December 2017). A rare, very showy, combination from this old iron mine.