Scheelite, Albite and Muscovite Cluster from Mt. Xuebaoding
Dimension: 9cm x 5cm x 4cm
Weight: 190g
Locality: Mt. Xuebaoding, Pingwu Co., Mianyang Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China
A dipyramidal crystal of orange Scheelite with very well defined faces and sharp edges, matt luster on a beautiful matrix of Muscovite and Albite. This specimen is from the renowned mining district around Pingwu at Mount Xuebaoding, in Sichuan Province, China.
Scheelite from this locality has been recognized as the world's best. The mountain was closed for mining years ago due to the expansion of a nearby panda preserve and the exhaustion of a number of the larger scheelite-bearing veins, Scheelite specimen from this locality are now very sort after in the market and are always auctioned off.
Scheelite is named after Swedish chemist and amateur mineralogist Carl Wilhelm Scheele, who discovered the element Tungsten from Scheelite-Tungsten comes from two Swedish words, "tung" meaning heavy and "sten" meaning stone or rock.