Mercedes Calcite (Chalcopyrite on Calcite) - Specimen

Locality: Daye Mine, Huangshi, Hubei Province, China

Mining in the district is very old. At the nearby Tonglüshan ancient copper mine, archaeologists have excavated hundreds of shafts and tunnels, along with smelting furnaces and about 400,000 tonnes of slag. The mine was worked from the late Shang dynasty through the Western Han dynasty.

A 2011 study of the Tonglüshan skarn deposit traced how its minerals formed in stages. Copper sulfides, including chalcopyrite, came out of fluids at about 240 to 350 °C. Carbonate veins formed later still, from cooler, less salty fluids at about 174 to 284 °C, which were probably partly mixed with groundwater.

Calcite is calcium carbonate, CaCO₃, with a hardness of 3 and a vitreous lustre. It is naturally colourless or white but takes on many colours from included minerals. Chalcopyrite, a copper iron sulfide (CuFeS₂), is brass-yellow with a metallic lustre, and its surface often tarnishes to iridescent colours.

This one of a kind Mercedes Calcite specimen from Hubei Province, China features a broad cluster of intergrown, pale cream to nearly clear calcite crystals with thick, flattened forms and sharply angled terminations. Dark brown to black mineral bands run along the faces and edges of many crystals, creating the lined pattern associated with this material. The specimen has a solid, layered build with visible surface striations, translucent sections, and a rough crystalline base that supports the larger overlapping crystals.

Mercedes Calcite, also known by collectors as Benz Calcite, is a distinctive variety of calcite named for the dark spoke-like or parallel markings that resemble the Mercedes-Benz emblem. These specimens are strongly associated with Hubei Province, China, particularly the Daye County and Huangshi mining region, where calcite commonly occurs with sulfide minerals such as chalcopyrite. The combination of translucent calcite and dark metallic mineral inclusions gives these specimens their highly collectible patterned appearance.

In crystal traditions, calcite is associated with clarity and cleansing, and chalcopyrite with creativity and insight.

Chemical Composition: Chalcopyrite: CuFeS2, Calcite: CaCO3

Quantity: 1pc
With this product, you will get the actual stone in the photograph.