FLUORITE on QUARTZ

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Closed in about 1975, the vein-hosted lead-zinc mines at Aouli in Khénifra Province, Morocco were well-known for amber-coloured Fluorite. Although rarely gemmy, the crystals presen t a very rich colour and their occasional association upon a bed of orange-red Quartz makes for a distinctive contrast. This fine, small cabinet specimen, features a rich coverage of intergrown cubic crystals reaching up to 2 cm on edge. Its reddish-orange finely crystallized Quartz matrix is white underneath, showing that the reddish-orange colour is from a thin outer layer, probably containing iron oxides. The Fluorite crystals are not glassy, but rather translucent with a rough, slightly frosted, jelly-candy like outer surface lustre and great intensity in colour. With directional lighting the amber colour of the Fluorite really stands out strongly. Most of the crystals are undamaged, but a couple do show slight chipping to their corners, but overall this is a very fine Fluorite-Quartz combination piece from this older Moroccan locality. Show more