Valentinite (2011 find)

Item Description

Here we have a hard to find Valentinite specimen from the famous San Jose Mine in Bolivia. This historic locality has been mined for literally hundreds of years (mostly Silver for the Spanish which dates as far back as the year 1595 and was mined by the native Incans for several centuries prior), and is still active today. In the mid 20th century, the San Jose Mine yielded some of the finest crystallized Valentinites in the world. After that point, the only Valentinites of note that came out of Bolivia where those from Colavi, but they don't stand up to the finest ones from San Jose. In 2011 the miners went back into an old part of the mine and found these wonderful Valentinites, and this piece hails from that find. The entire area was mined out, and no more of these pieces will be found again. This particular piece is a decent example of this rare antimony oxide (Pronounced: Vah-LEN-tin-ite) featuring a few, sharp, lustrous, prismatic crystals ranging from white/silvery to a slight amber hue which are associated with massive grey Galena and Pyrite matrix. The largest crystal, which measures 1.3 cm is not 100% complete, but smaller crystals are very attractive up close. There is a partial radial "spray" of crystals on the piece, which is the main focal point. A couple of the crystals are actually hollow in the center (see the 4th photo), which is not commonly seen in this material. A great chance to have a matrix specimen of a very hard to find mineral from one of the most notable localities in Bolivia. Species collectors out there should jump on this one, but worldwide collectors should not pass it up either. We have precious few of these pieces to offer (we found some in a flat in our storage), and it's very likely you won't see any more from this mine again anytime soon.