Sfalerite con pirite Lot n° 48

Sphalerite with pyrite Trepca, Kosovo Mineral formation 20x31x14 cm Conservation status. Surface area: 90%. Conservation status. Support: 90% Large sample of sulfides from the famous Trepca mine in Kosovo. Prominent are the large black pseudo-octahedral crystals of sphalerite, also called blende, found here in its ferriferous variety, called "marmatite." In places, typical alternations of coalescent crystals can be seen, forming the so-called "polysynthetic geminate." The blende is associated with lenticular aggregates formed by numerous lustrous pyrite crystals; the shape of the aggregates suggests that pyrite deposition probably occurred on top of pre-existing pyrrhotine crystals. This phenomenon probably constitutes pseudomorphosis by encrustation. Prior to the war in Kosovo, the Trepca mines, on the outskirts of Mitrovica in Kosovo, had a happy age, reaching, in terms of the amount of material mined-mostly lead, zinc, gold, and silver-the third position in Europe, contributing 70 percent of Yugoslavia's mineral production and 80 percent of Kosovo's wealth. There were over 10,000 employees, while now only 1,300 remain.