Hill Leadford Mine, Cave-In-Rock, Hardin Co., Illinois

10.2 x 10.1 x 2.8 cm

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A thin plate composed entirely of cubic Fluorite crystals. One side of the specimen is a rich purple color. On the reverse side, the purple color is muted with gray/brown tones due to the inclusion of bitumen within the Fluorite crystals. On the purple side, the color is more vibrant in the smaller crystals which lay in between the larger crystals. There are also small mounds of very small, double terminated Quartz crystals which are often found on Fluorite from this mine. Originally, the specimen was coated entirely with Bitumen. After a months long soaking in a common household cleaner, all of the Bitumen has been removed from the surfaces. The mine was closed down in the late 1960s. In the 1980s, three other mines in the Cave-In-Rock district were reopened. In order to do so, millions of gallons of water needed to be pumped out because all the mines in the district were interconnected. The exception was the Hill Leadford mine where the water level never went down.

Condition: Good

Flaws: There is some minor wear on the edges of some of the crystals.

This mineral is also found in the following galleries: Minerals From the United States | Fluorite | Quartz | Borates and Hydrocarbons | Minerals with Inclusions | Minerals Priced Between 50 and 99 Dollars