Description
This is a beautiful, natural crystal cluster with high-Mn, rhombohedral calcite, covered with dolomite and pagoda calcite crystals on the surface, mostly on one side. From the famous Trepça Mine complex in the Trepça Valley in Kosovo.
91 x 66 x 30 mm. 156 grams.
The calcite of this piece (where not covered with dolomite) glows beautifully red-orange under long wave ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 365 nanometers.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have a 395 nm light or a black light, it WILL NOT make this rock glow. A 365 nm long wave ultraviolet light was used in the fluorescent photos.
Please let us know if you would like additional information on mineral fluorescence and ultraviolet lights. 🥰. We have 365 nm long wave fluorescent flashlights and the 254 nm "Triple" available for purchase.
The history of the Trepça Mines traces back the Middle Ages. Modern operations began with the establishment of Trepca Mining and Metallurgical Complex in the 1920s.
After World War II, the communist government nationalized all privately-held companies in Yugoslavia, including Trepca, and turned them into state-owned enterprisers.
The mine effectively went out of production as a result of the 1999 Kosovo war with Serbia. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, but the future of the Trepča mining complex remained uncertain throughout most of the 2000s and it fell into a state of disrepair.
The huge mining complex was put under government control in 2016 to save it from bankruptcy, and mining operations continue today.
Our supplier obtains the pieces directly from the operating mines.