Fluorite

Xianghuapu Mine, Xianghualing Sn-polymetallic ore field, Linwu Co., Chenzhou, Hunan, China

A large plate of intergrown fluorite cubes to 4 cm on edge, every one of them clear and transparent, in a fresh, light green. The cubes are beveled along their edges by narrow, finely stepped dodecahedral faces. Where the crystals overlap and interlock, light passes through several of them at once, and the whole plate seems to glow. Glassy faces catch the light from every angle. The specimen comes from the Xianghuapu W-Be mine in the Xianghualing ore field of southern Hunan, China, known for pale green fluorite of exceptional clarity that collectors compare with the classic material from Dalnegorsk. With cubes this size, transparent throughout, the plate shows the locality at its best.