Description
Detailed Description
This is a great specimen for this historic locality – sharp, nearly equant crystals of intense blue azurite cover an area of a vein section containing chalcopyrite. Some of the azurite crystals are clustered together in one area, while others are nicely separated across the matrix (they look great under magnification!). Associated with minor malachite. In excellent condition (a couple of incomplete crystal areas, seen with magnification). From the John S. White Pennsylvania Collection, and prior to that, in the collections of Skip Colflesh, Fred Parker and Jay Lininger.
About the Cornwall Iron Mine
The Cornwall Iron Mine began in 1732 and, after operating continuously for over 230 years, it is regarded as one of the great historic mines of the American Northeast. Iron from Cornwall supplied efforts in the Revolutionary War and, over the history of the mine, more than 106 million tons of iron ore were produced. The Cornwall Iron Mine complex also produced gold, silver, copper and cobalt during the life of the mine. In 1972, Tropical Storm (originally Hurricane) Agnes caused the remaining mining operations to flood beyond commercial recovery, and the Cornwall Iron Mine closed in June 1973. Mineralogically it is an important locality, with over 60 mineral species known from the deposit.
