TERRIUM — A mineralogy cabinet

Yeso

Yeso is a mineral with formula CaSO₄·2H₂O, in the Sulfatos group. This specimen comes from Rudna Mine, Lubin, Baja Silesia, Polonia and joined the Terrium collection in 2026.

Yeso from Rudna Mine, Lubin, Baja Silesia, Polonia — Terrium

Description

Known as "La Cacatúa", "el Punki" or "Carnival". Green gypsum crystals on a very fine matrix. The aggregate forms a feathered, crest-like spray with a light, aerial aspect.

History of this specimen

Related to piece (0407) in provenance and aesthetics. It is the yang to its yin. This one is green with a brown matrix; that one, brown with a green tint.

About Yeso

Green gypsum with paratacamite inclusions. It is the product of secondary oxidation: oxygenated water attacked the original copper sulphides CuFeS₂ and, in this case, converted them to chlorides, chiefly paratacamite Cu₂(OH)₃Cl, which coloured the gypsum crystals during their growth. The base of this piece is a flake of schist, a dark rock with a laminated structure, notable for being very light.

About the locality

The challenge at Rudna is not only mineral hardness, but elastic stress. The rocks are so compact and at such depth that they store energy like a giant spring. When miners drill, the rock does not always crack smoothly; sometimes it bursts (a rockburst). Hence, when one sees such delicate pieces, it is almost a miracle that they survived extraction in an environment where machines must strike with brutal force to gain a single metre.

Technical data

Catalogue No.
0389
Composition
CaSO₄·2H₂O
Name
Yeso
Group
Sulfatos
Category
Cresta Montis
Associations
para-atacamita
Mine
Rudna Mine
District / Municipality
Lubin
Province
Baja Silesia
Country
Polonia
Size (cm)
7.5 x 6 x 3.5
Weight
17 g
Acquired
2026
Etymology
From the Greek gypsos, meaning "plaster" or "chalk", in reference to its historic use as a building and sculptural material.
Quality
Top
Value trend
Estable

Related specimens

← Back to Terrium catalogue