Dioptase with Chalcedony and Quartz, Bonanza Mine, Bonanza and Golden Eagle Mine group, Martin Peak, Salome, La Paz County, Arizona, USA
Rich coating of sparkling, gemmy, aqua-blue dioptase crystals on matrix with nicely contrasting white chalcedony and sharply terminated, transparent quartz clusters. The lustrous and water-clear dioptase crystals, best appreciated under magnification, form both bow-tie and radiating groups, and many are doubly terminated. Aqua blue dioptase is the signature mineral of the Bonanza Mine (a.k.a. Harquahala Mine), which was worked intermittently from 1888 to 1918, and then on a smaller scale to 1964. With the rise in the price of gold, the mine was returning to commercial operation and closed to entry (January 2021). This specimen has been in a private collection for several decades.
