Dan Weinrich

Dealer in Fine Mineral Specimens

P.O. Box 425 * Grover, Missouri * 63040

Telephone: 314-341-1811 E-Mail: [email protected] Selected Specimens From The Viburnum

Trend, Missouri

The Viburnum Trend mining district is the largest lead mining subdistrict in the world. Located approximately 90 miles south of St. Louis, these mines roughly follow an ancient reef complex, exploiting solution breccias, massive bedded units, and disseminated grains in the Cambrian age Bonne Terre formation. The subdistrict is responsible for providing 80% of lead production in the United States, 15% of total world production. The subdistrict also yields zinc, copper, silver and cobalt. Production in the subdistrict has been steady since the mid-1960's.

The Viburnum Trend is well known to most all mineral collectors and curators. Since the late 1960's, the subdistrict has yielded innumerable superb and world class specimens of galena. Galena specimens from the district are best known for their simple crystallography and extremely high luster. Another species that has been collected in "the Trend" in truly world class specimens is the rare nickel cobalt sulfide, siegenite. Lustrous twinned bright crystals to 1 cm in size were collected at one time from the Milliken (Sweetwater) mine on snow white dolomite. Thousands upon thousands of calcite specimens have made their way to collector's shelves over the years, as well as great examples of chalcopyrite, marcasite and pyrite. The mineralogy is generally very simple, but the overall quality of the material is not.

As of this writing, mining is still going ahead with production, and good specimens continue to be found at the Milliken (Sweetwater), Buick, West Fork, and Brushy Creek mines. The future for this subdistrict looks good as far as the mineral collector is concerned.

The following is just a short pictorial featuring specimens from this subdistrict, and is by no means complete. These specimens are not currently for sale.

Calcite - Magmont mine, Iron Co., Missouri; this beautiful specimen measures 21 x 18 x 11 cm in size overall. The orange color is not a coating or stain; the crystals are gemmy at the terminations. For my taste, this is the finest calcite specimen that I have seen from the mining district. The specimen was collected just before the mine closed, in 1994. Calcite - Milliken (Sweetwater) mine, Reynolds Co., Missouri; pale yellow prismatic crystals of calcite, terminated by sharp rhombohedral crystal faces, are a well known from this locality. This particular example is extremely showy and choice, showing much better aesthetics than normally seen in calcites with this type of crystallization. Measures 14 cm in height overall.

Calcite with Chalcopyrite - Milliken (Sweetwater) mine, Reynolds Co., Missouri; in late 1973, just before Christmas break, mining intersected an enormous "walk-in" pocket lined with large scalenohedral calcite crystals, most exhibiting sharp dark greenish phantom crystals. This example, formerly in the collection of Marion Stuart, is from that find. It is clean and free of damage, and is very aesthetically set on matrix with brassy chalcopyrite crystals. The specimen measures 18.5 cm tall.

Polydymite and Vaesite on Millerite - Buick mine, Iron Co., Missouri; there is a small amount of nickel mineralization present throughout the subdistrict. Rarely, however, does one find crystallized specimens of these species. The example at right is very interesting and quite rare. The specimen was formerly in the collection of Craig Zellers, and x-ray work was performed by Dr. Ray Coveney. The specimen measures 3.5 cm tall. Galena - Buick mine, Iron Co., Missouri; one of the most prized types of galena crystallization to be found in the subdistrict are the incredibly rare galena "stalactites". While specimens have been found rarely throughout the life of the district, a sizeable pocket was hit during mining in approximately 1997. At least 20 - 25 good examples came to light, including one fantastic example (probably the finest Missouri galena specimen in existence) with a 35 cm terminated stalactite set on matrix. The example at left is terminated on the top, measures 17.5 cm tall, and, as is typical of these, has a small hole running up the inside of the "stalactite" the entire length of the specimen. The specimen, again as is typical of these, is repaired in one place. The other "half" of this specimen resides in another collection in St. Louis. The two pieces fit together perfectly, and the entire specimen is doubly terminated and measures approximately 35 cm in overall length.

Marcasite with Quartz - Magmont mine, Iron Co., Missouri; in 1993/1994, a pocket zone in the Magmont mine was encountered full of neat stalactitic crystallized marcasite, most "sugar coated" by micro sparkling drusy quartz crystals. The example at right is probably the finest and most aesthetic specimen from this find. It sits perfectly for display and measures 11.5 cm tall. Formerly in the collection of Joe Kielbaso. While marcasite from some localities is known to breakdown and decompose, in general, marcasite specimens from the Viburnum Trend remain very stable. This specimen is as "fresh" as it was in 1993.

Galena with Calcite - Milliken (Sweetwater) mine, Reynolds Co., Missouri; good combination specimens of galena and calcite are not terribly common from the subdistrict, at least not with two species exhibiting large, sizeable crystals. The example at left is the finest hand sized combination specimen that I have seen, at least, for my taste. The specimen measures 11.5 cm wide and shows a perfect doubly terminated calcite crystal lying across the top of a very highly lustrous galena crystal. All in all, an outstanding specimen! Galena - Buick mine, Iron Co., Missouri; twinning in galena from the subdistrict is not very common. When seen, normally small "spinel law" twinning predominates. Around 1997 a small pocket zone was intersected during mining at the Buick mine which yielded some of the finest spinel twin galena specimens known from the entire subdistrict. Good spinel twin law galena specimens have also been collected from the Brushy Creek mine, but nothing from there has approached the size of the twinned crystals from this find at Buick. The example at right is probably the finest and most aesthetic from the find. It measures 9.5 cm wide. I had to practically beg (it wasn't a pretty sight!) to get this specimen, then was forced to sell it, then bought it back! It now will not leave St. Louis!

Galena with Chalcopyrite - Milliken (Sweetwater) mine, Reynolds Co., Missouri; the example at left was collected in 1993. I still can remember the miner's kitchen floor covered with these things. A beautiful sight indeed! The specimen is perfect, the bright lustrous galena really set off nicely from the white dolomite matrix, accented with brassy chalcopyrite crystals. The specimen measures 10 cm in width.

Galena on Marcasite - Milliken (Sweetwater) mine, Reynolds Co., Missouri; the example at right is both beautiful and unusual and was ollected in the spring of 1993. I had been seeing many small and mostly insignificant specimens like this one, then one night .... there it was. The specimen is actually a "floater" with no points of attachment, and there are nice yellow lustrous crystals of calcite on the back side of the matrix. The specimen measures 12.5 cm in height.

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