SCHEELITE WITH MUSCOVITE

ABOUT THE SPECIMEN Large and hefty compound crystal of scheelite measuring to almost 8 cm and weighing over a pound, with complementing muscovite on the sides. The complex ‘stacked’ growth with its multiple terminations is very reminiscent of a series of mountain peaks. At and around the terminations the scheelite is super gemmy and glassy with its luster, and with backlighting the whole thing absolutely glows with vibrant orange and gold hues. This specimen has the characteristic ghostly white fluorescence under UV light that these pieces are known for. Note that the first photos were taken with backlighting.   VIDEO   MORE INFO Perched above 4,200 meters in the Minshan range within a panda habitat reserve, the Xuebaoding W-Sn-Be deposit is a vein-type hydrothermal system hosted in interlayered schist and marble of the Lower Triassic Bocigou Formation, with Sm-Nd isotope dating placing mineralization at roughly 182 Ma during the Early Yanshanian. Scheelite crystallized within open quartz veins alongside aquamarine beryl, cassiterite, and muscovite from volatile-rich, CO₂-bearing hydrothermal fluids at low sodium activity; REE geochemistry published in Science Bulletin confirms high total rare earth concentrations with LREE enrichment and negative europium anomalies - a fingerprint consistent with an A-type granite source. Orange coloration deepens with increasing rare earth element substitution into the tungstate structure. Crystals are pseudo-octahedral dipyramids, often gemmy throughout, ranging from pale beige to saturated deep orange, and display intense blue-white fluorescence under shortwave UV - a property directly tied to molybdenum content, with purer scheelite fluorescing more brilliantly. Conservation pressure within the Huya Xuebaoding National Park has resulted in the mining area being closed to further extraction, making all available material old-stock; fine pseudo-octahedral crystals on muscovite matrix have become substantially harder to source since access was curtailed.