Willemite, Dolomite, Smithsonite, Aragonite

Attractive specimen of bright fluorescent green and light-blue Willemite, deep red Dolomite, dark-blue to lavender Smithsonite and white Aragonite highlight this choice specimen. Just an incredible blende of Shortwave Ultraviolet fluorescent colors! Bright and enduring yellow and blue-white phosphorescence (I think the yellow and blue may be from Willemite and the white from Aragonite). This  specimen is from the Aroona Zinc Mine, Northern Flinders Ranges, South Australia, Australia. For more information on this remarkable deposit contact me directly or refer to a research article in the Mineralogical Record, volume 22 November-December 1991 "Minerals of the Beltana Mine, Puttapa, South Australia". You must use a good quality SW/UV lamp to see the colors. Rocks look best when allowed to sit 5 to 10 minutes under UV and fully "charge-up".  

Puttapa and Aroona were run by the same company (Perilya) during mining operations. Rock from Aroona was trucked to Puttapa for processing during the life of the mines. All Aroona and Puttapa specimens I offer were personally collected by me in 2015 or 2023. This specimen was found at Puttapa but I know it is from Aroona. I recovered this rock at the ore transfer location at Puttapa while digging out MW Puttapa material.

This is a very bright large cabinet size specimen.  

Compare natural light photo of specimen on a US one dollar bill for scale. 

Specimen Aus-257 is 3.50"x 2.50"x 2.25" and weighs  1 pound 2.8 ounces.  

PLEASE scroll down and READ SHIPPING INFORMATION BELOW

Notes on Ultraviolet;

The bottom line is this; The higher quality the Ultraviolet (UV) source, the better fluorescent minerals look (Don't cheap out). Critical factors include; lamp filter (Hoya glass vs Plastic filter or lens), lamp wattage, bulb composition, lamp construction, wave length and distance of lamp to specimen. For best results with any UV source, observe against a black, non-fluorescent, non-reflective background, in complete darkness with eyes adapted. To dark adapt your eye's, you must be in complete darkness for approximately seven (7) minutes. The photos here were taken using Shortwave (SW), Midwave (MW) or Longwave (LW) lamps, metered and exposed to show fluorescent response to its best advantage. The more powerful the ultraviolet lamp, the brighter the fluorescent response. I will indicate which wavelength is appropriate for the particular specimen being offered at auction. I use 2-9 watt SW/UV lamps to illuminate most specimens and for Longwave (LW) I use an Engenious Designs LGHTSBR LW/UV Lamp. With some extra large specimens I use a Super Bright II and a single 9 watt SW/UV overhead lamp for proper illumination.  Weight and measurements of rocks are approximate and do not account for necessary shipping materials (box, bubble wrap, labels, tape, etc) which can add anywhere between 4 ounces (minimum) to 10 ounces per parcel.