Provenite

Dalnegorsk

AreaActiveDraft data

44.5500° N, 135.5800° E · ± 10 km

Chalcopyrite, Fluorite, Galena, Pyrite, Pyrrhotite, Siderite and Sphalerite from Primorsky Krai, Russia, with photos of specimens from this locality.

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Minerals found here

ChalcopyriteFluoriteGalenaPyritePyrrhotiteSideriteSphalerite

On the same specimen

Same specimen Galena with Sphalerite

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show sphalerite with galena together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Galena with Pyrrhotite

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show pyrrhotite with galena together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Quartz with Pyrrhotite

2 specimen photo(s) from this locality show pyrrhotite with quartz together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Chalcopyrite at Dalnegorsk

Isolated, lustrous, architectural crystals that stand free from the matrix in open cavities in lead-zinc-silver skarn, set against black sphalerite, silvery galena and bronze pyrrhotite.

Gunmetal-grey chalcopyrite crystals up to 2 cm embedded in sphalerite.
Gunmetal-grey chalcopyrite crystals up to 2 cm embedded in sphalerite.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Formula
CuFeS₂
Morphology
Sharp pseudotetrahedral crystals, including complex twins
Typical size
Crystals up to several centimeters
Color / luster
Brassy yellow-gold when fresh; some pieces look grayish, gunmetal, bronze or iridescent; strong metallic luster on good crystals
Associated minerals
Galenasphaleritepyrrhotitefluoritecalcitequartz
Twins
Complex twinned crystals reported
History
Specimens come mainly from the Nikolaevskiy, 2nd Sovetskii and Verkhnii workings of the district, where Cretaceous to Paleogene magmatic-hydrothermal activity altered limestone and other carbonate units.

Sources: SRC-034

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Fluorite at Dalnegorsk

Large, glassy light-green cubes with strong purple UV fluorescence from the Nikolaevskiy mine.

Light-green glassy fluorite cube on matrix from the Nikolaevskiy mine, Dalnegorsk.
Light-green glassy fluorite cube on matrix from the Nikolaevskiy mine, Dalnegorsk.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Formula
CaF₂
Morphology
Cubes, some glassy and perched on matrix
Typical size
Cubic crystals reported up to about 20 cm across; photographed specimen carries a cube of about 4 cm
Color / luster
Light green, glassy; strong purple fluorescence under UV
Availability
Unknown

Sources: SRC-186 SRC-183

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Galena at Dalnegorsk

Sculptural, stepped or skeletal lead-gray crystals on a white quartz and calcite matrix

Single 4.5 cm galena crystal with sharp faces and bright metallic luster, seated in a bend of the matrix.
Single 4.5 cm galena crystal with sharp faces and bright metallic luster, seated in a bend of the matrix.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Flattened spinel-twinned galena crystal without matrix contacts.
Flattened spinel-twinned galena crystal without matrix contacts.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Two spinel-twinned galena crystals of about 3 cm each on a matrix of smaller galena, quartz and sphalerite.
Two spinel-twinned galena crystals of about 3 cm each on a matrix of smaller galena, quartz and sphalerite.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Formula
PbS
Morphology
Cuboctahedral crystals with stepped and skeletal growth, pseudohexagonal outlines and flattened spinel twins; intergrown groups
Color / luster
Lead-gray with highly lustrous, mirror-bright faces
Associated minerals
White quartzcalcitesphaleritepyrrhotitechalcopyritefluoritesiderite
Surface features
Stepped and skeletal growth faces
Twins
Flattened spinel-law twins
Availability
Unknown
History
Main galena sources are the Nikolaevskiy Mine and the 2nd Sovetskii Mine (Partizanskoe Pb-Zn deposit); fine 1980s and 1990s specimens reached Western collectors in quantity in the late Soviet and early post-Soviet years.

Sources: SRC-058 SRC-059 SRC-060

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Pyrite at Dalnegorsk

Pyrite within complex boron-rich and Pb-Zn-Ag skarn-polymetallic assemblages

Formula
FeS₂
Associated minerals
Galenasphaleritepyrrhotitefluoritecalcitequartzchalcopyritesideritehedenbergiteilvaite
Availability
Scarce
History
Long-lived mining district comprising multiple boron and polymetallic deposits

Sources: SRC-003

About Pyrite →

Pyrrhotite at Dalnegorsk

Sharp single bladed pyrrhotite crystal on black sphalerite and quartz, Dalnegorsk.
Sharp single bladed pyrrhotite crystal on black sphalerite and quartz, Dalnegorsk.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Galena dodecahedra intergrown with thick pyrrhotite plates, Dalnegorsk.
Galena dodecahedra intergrown with thick pyrrhotite plates, Dalnegorsk.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Group of brass-coloured, pseudohexagonal pyrrhotite crystals on quartz, Dalnegorsk.
Group of brass-coloured, pseudohexagonal pyrrhotite crystals on quartz, Dalnegorsk.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Dark-bronze pyrrhotite crystal with tiny chalcopyrite on quartz crystals, Dalnegorsk.
Dark-bronze pyrrhotite crystal with tiny chalcopyrite on quartz crystals, Dalnegorsk.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Two thick hexagonal pyrrhotite crystals on sphalerite and quartz, Dalnegorsk.
Two thick hexagonal pyrrhotite crystals on sphalerite and quartz, Dalnegorsk.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Formula
Fe₁₋ₓS (x = 0-0.17)
Morphology
Bladed and pseudohexagonal tabular crystals, thick plates intergrown with galena
Typical size
Crystals 1-4 cm
Color / luster
Brassy to dark bronze; occasional iridescence
Associated minerals
Sphaleritequartzgalenachalcopyrite
Availability
Commonly available
History
The Handbook notes very large crystals from Dalnegorsk.

Sources: SRC-627 SRC-635

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Siderite at Dalnegorsk

Delicate double stalactite of small platy olive-green siderite crystals from Dalnegorsk.
Delicate double stalactite of small platy olive-green siderite crystals from Dalnegorsk.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Formula
FeCO₃
Morphology
Stalactitic aggregates of small platy crystals
Typical size
Stalactite about 9 cm long
Color / luster
Olive-green, lustrous
Availability
Unknown

Sources: SRC-615

About Siderite →

Sphalerite at Dalnegorsk

Radial flower-like group of sphalerite crystals up to 2.5 cm, with red 'ruby jack' tips, from Dalnegorsk.
Radial flower-like group of sphalerite crystals up to 2.5 cm, with red 'ruby jack' tips, from Dalnegorsk.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Single sphalerite crystal with tiered form and bright luster on all sides, from Dalnegorsk.
Single sphalerite crystal with tiered form and bright luster on all sides, from Dalnegorsk.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Cluster of twinned black sphalerite crystals with gunmetal-gray galena crystals on matrix from Dalnegorsk.
Cluster of twinned black sphalerite crystals with gunmetal-gray galena crystals on matrix from Dalnegorsk.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Formula
(Zn,Fe)S
Morphology
Radial flower-like groups, single tiered crystals, twinned crystal clusters
Typical size
Groups with crystals to about 2.5 cm; single crystals up to about 4 cm
Color / luster
Black with a bright luster; some crystals show red tips
Associated minerals
Galenachalcopyritepyrrhotite
Surface features
Chevron striations on large crystals
Twins
Twinned crystals reported
Availability
Unknown

Sources: SRC-369 SRC-382

About Sphalerite →

Geology of the locality

Setting
Boron-rich skarn and Pb-Zn-Ag skarn/vein systems formed around limestone bodies
Type
Skarn, Hydrothermal
Host rock
Limestone with volcanic-sedimentary rocks
Region
Primorsky Krai
Country
Russia

Mining district comprising multiple deposits, including boron and polymetallic workings; coordinates represent the district center.

Sources: SRC-003

Sources

  1. SRC-003 · Database
    Dalnegorsk, Dalnegorsk Urban District, Primorsky Krai, RussiaMindat.org · Mindat.org
  2. SRC-034 · Website
    Chalcopyrite from Dalnegorsk, Russia (EarthWonders)EarthWonders
  3. SRC-186 · Website
    File:Fluorite-38050.jpg (Wikimedia Commons file page)Lavinsky, R.M. (photographer) · 2010 · Wikimedia Commons
  4. SRC-183 · Website
    FluoriteWikipedia contributors · Wikipedia
  5. SRC-058 · Website
    Galena from Dalnegorsk, RussiaEarthWonders
  6. SRC-059 · Database
    Dalnegorsk, Dalnegorsk Urban District, Primorsky Krai, RussiaMindat.org (zh mirror)
  7. SRC-060 · Website
    Galena: Value, Localities & Collecting GuideEarthWonders
  8. SRC-627 · Book
    Handbook of Mineralogy - PyrrhotiteAnthony, J.W.; Bideaux, R.A.; Bladh, K.W.; Nichols, M.C. · 2005 · Mineral Data Publishing / Mineralogical Society of America
  9. SRC-635 · Website
    File:Pyrrhotite-172142.jpgRobert M. Lavinsky · Wikimedia Commons
  10. SRC-615 · Website
    File:Siderite-62632.jpgRobert M. Lavinsky · Wikimedia Commons
  11. SRC-369 · Article
    Geology and mineralogy of Pb-Zn deposits of the Northern Primorye, Russian Far EastKolesnikov, V.N. · 1998 · Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration
  12. SRC-382 · Website
    Wikimedia Commons file page Sphalerite-180911.jpgRobert M. Lavinsky · Wikimedia Commons

Draft data from the Provenite workbook. Check entries against the cited sources before relying on them. Photos are open-licence images from Wikimedia Commons; the author and licence are given with each photo.