The Hongda mine works the Xiaoqinggou silver-manganese deposit in Lingqiu County, Shanxi Province, in the far eastern China. The mine has a very limited mineralogy of only seven mineral species, but what it lacks in variety, it more than compensates in quality and aesthetic. Its Silver specimens are stunning and this specimen proves the point. Masses of heavily tarnished Native Silver wires cap a grey and pinkish-cream matrix, forming Medusa-like writhing strands and curls. Oxidation has given most of the Silver a greyish-black patina and this varies according to the thickness of individual wires, which range from hair-like to pencil thick. This is a classic wire Native Silver, made all the more fascinating by its rare locality.
