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Descripción
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.
The Daye area, near Huangshi in southeastern Hubei Province, lies in the Edong mining district at the western end of China's Middle-Lower Yangtze River metal belt. Its copper and iron ores are skarn deposits, formed where hot fluids from intruding magma reacted with limestone. At the Tonglüshan deposit, for example, the ore lies along the contact between a quartz diorite body about 140 million years old and the marine limestones of the Lower Triassic Daye Formation.
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.
This one of a kind Mercedes Calcite with Chalcopyrite mineral specimen from Hubei, China features a striking cluster of pale champagne to icy white calcite crystals with bold dark metallic striping across several crystal faces. The specimen has a sculptural, multi-directional formation, with broad blocky calcite points, angled terminations, and frosted white crystalline growths across the back and underside. The dark chalcopyrite markings create the distinctive “Mercedes” patterning, giving the piece a dramatic contrast between soft translucent calcite and sharp black-bronze mineral accents.
Mercedes Calcite, also known as Benz Calcite, is a collector trade name used for calcite specimens that display dark three-line or emblem-like markings resembling the Mercedes-Benz symbol. These unusual specimens are strongly associated with Hubei Province, China, particularly the Daye County and Huangshi mining areas, where calcite is often found with chalcopyrite, pyrite, and other sulfide minerals. This combination of patterned calcite and metallic mineral growth makes Hubei Mercedes Calcite highly recognizable among modern Chinese mineral specimens.
Spiritually, calcite is often associated with clarity, cleansing, energy flow, and mental focus. Chalcopyrite is commonly connected with confidence, motivation, and positive transformation. Together, this mineral pairing is often appreciated by crystal collectors for its balance of bright, clearing calcite energy and grounding metallic intensity.
Chemical Composition: Chalcopyrite: CuFeS2, Calcite: CaCO3
Quantity: 1pc
With this product, you will get the actual stone in the photograph.