Green Mountain Minerals

09/25/2026

RHODOCHROSITE

N'Chwaning Mine, Northern Cape, South Africa

In previous posts we have featured crystals with the classic scalenohedral "dog's tooth" habit. There are several other forms that can be seen from N'Chwaning, notably the wheat sheaf habit, and a hemispherical form with radiating crystals, most notably in the famous piece well-known simply as "The Snail." Today's piece has a very interesting variation on the scalenohedral form, as the crystals are truncated by a flat pinacoidal termination. The crystals are a rich red color, arranged as a k**b, overall measuring 10 cm in size. With such a diversity of habits, it is understandable why some collectors have more than one N'Chwaning rhodo in their collections.

09/25/2026

RHODOCHROSITE
N'Chwaning Mine, Northern Cape, South Africa
Rhodochrosite is one of most sought after species in the mineral kingdom.
In previous posts we have featured crystals with the classic scalenohedral "dog's tooth" habit. There are several other forms that can be seen from N'Chwaning, notably the wheat sheaf habit, and a hemispherical form with radiating crystals, most notably in the famous piece well-known simply as "The Snail." Today's piece has a very interesting variation on the scalenohedral form, as the crystals are truncated by a flat pinacoidal termination. The crystals are a rich red color, arranged as a k**b, overall measuring 10 cm in size. With such a diversity of habits, it is understandable why some collectors have more than one N'Chwaning rhodo in their collections.

09/06/2026

08/14/2026

WULFENITE

Red Cloud Mine
Silver District, Trigo Mountains, La Paz County, Arizona
Specimens of Wulfenite are coveted by collectors because of the variety of its colors and the appealing shapes of the crystals. Wonderful examples in shades of yellow, gold, orange, red, and tan have been found at Tsumeb, Los Lamentos, La Morita, Ojuela, Mežica, and several Arizona localities including the Glove Mine, the Rowley, and the Old Yuma. The Red Cloud Mine may however be the most famous and desirable of all the worldwide sources of Wulfenite because of the bright red color of the crystals as well as their large size, sometimes up to 5 cm.
Mining started there in the late 1870s, producing Galena and Chlorargyrite as silver ore. Its preeminent position for wulfenite collectors was established in 1938, when the legendary field collector Ed Over found a pocket with 24 of the finest wulfenite specimens ever found, mostly single crystals off matrix. Most of these are now in museums around the world. It was not until April 1996 that the next great discovery took place, a vein 4 meters across and 10 cm wide, yielding dozens of pieces of lustrous red wulfenite crystals on matrix.

08/14/2026

WULFENITE

Red Cloud Mine
Silver District, Trigo Mountains, La Paz County, Arizona
Specimens of Wulfenite are coveted by collectors because of the variety of its colors and the appealing shapes of the crystals. Wonderful examples in shades of yellow, gold, orange, red, and tan have been found at Tsumeb, Los Lamentos, La Morita, Ojuela, Mežica, and several Arizona localities including the Glove Mine, the Rowley, and the Old Yuma. The Red Cloud Mine may however be the most famous and desirable of all the worldwide sources of Wulfenite because of the bright red color of the crystals as well as their large size, sometimes up to 5 cm.
Mining started there in the late 1870s, producing Galena and Chlorargyrite as silver ore. Its preeminent position for wulfenite collectors was established in 1938, when the legendary field collector Ed Over found a pocket with 24 of the finest wulfenite specimens ever found, mostly single crystals off matrix. Most of these are now in museums around the world. It was not until April 1996 that the next great discovery took place, a vein 4 meters across and 10 cm wide, yielding dozens of pieces of lustrous red wulfenite crystals on matrix.