Libethenite

Ľubietová, Banská Bystrica District, Banská Bystrica Region, Slovakia

Dark green, almost black Libethenite crystals to 3 mm sit on white Quartz with a striking cellular structure, its thin walls forming small open boxes stained orange-brown by iron oxides. The crystals are sharp and lustrous, and bright blue-green crusts around them add a vivid touch of color. The specimen comes from Ľubietová in central Slovakia, known in German as Libethen, which gave the mineral its name: August Breithaupt described Libethenite from here in 1823, making Ľubietová its type locality. It is also one of the most important historical copper deposits in Europe. Copper was mined here from the Bronze Age, most intensively in the 15th and 16th centuries, until mining ended in 1863. A type-locality specimen with good crystals on a matrix full of character. Photo: Matthew Parshchikov