Specifications
Description
Locality: Daye Mine, Huangshi, Hubei Province, China
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.
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.
This one of a kind Mercedes Calcite with Chalcopyrite mineral specimen from Hubei, China features a large, well-formed translucent calcite crystal rising from a richly textured matrix of dark bronze-brown chalcopyrite. The main calcite crystal shows pale smoky champagne tones with clean geometric faces, visible internal growth lines, and distinctive dark linear markings running across the crystal face. Around the base, smaller sharp chalcopyrite crystals and metallic coatings create a dramatic contrast against the glassy calcite, giving the specimen a bold architectural display presence. Additionally, from certain angles, it resembles a snail.
Mercedes Calcite, also called Benz Calcite, is a collector name for calcite specimens that display dark three-line markings resembling the Mercedes-Benz emblem. These striking patterned specimens are strongly associated with Hubei Province, China, especially the Daye County and Huangshi mining districts, where calcite commonly occurs with chalcopyrite, pyrite, and other sulfide minerals. The combination of transparent calcite, metallic chalcopyrite, and graphic natural striping makes this material especially recognizable among modern Chinese mineral specimens.
Spiritually, calcite is often associated with clarity, cleansing, focus, and the movement of stagnant energy. Chalcopyrite is commonly connected with confidence, motivation, and transformation. Together, this pairing is often appreciated as a balance of bright, clearing calcite energy with grounding metallic strength.
Chemical Composition: Chalcopyrite: CuFeS2, Calcite: CaCO3
Quantity: 1pc
With this product, you will get the actual stone in the photograph.