Plata Filiforme
Plata is a mineral with formula Ag, in the Elementos nativos group. This specimen comes from Mina Porco, Porco, Antonio Quijarro, Potosí, Bolivia.
Description
Native wire silver with thick, twisted wires rising from a dark sulphide matrix. The matrix consists mainly of coppery silver-rich sulphides with galena, sphalerite and small quartz-filled cavities; minor stephanite may also be present.
History of this specimen
This piece comes from a small find in 2013. Salva Minerales bought it directly from the miners, who risked their jobs to save these specimens from the smelter and make a little extra cash for their families in the process."
About Plata
Native silver is one of the most prized native elements among collectors. Wire silver develops when hydrothermal fluids precipitate metallic silver into open fractures, producing delicate branching aggregates. Porco has yielded some of Bolivia's finest specimens, although nearly all production has historically been processed for its silver content.
About the locality
Porco is Bolivia's oldest and most important silver mine, with documented mining since Inca times and extensive exploitation during the Spanish colonial period. The Hundimiento Vein is part of the district's hydrothermal vein system. The mine remains an active commercial operation and almost all ore is processed, making collectible specimens exceptionally scarce.
Technical data
- Catalogue No.
- 0690
- Composition
- Ag
- Name
- Plata
- Variety
- Filiforme
- Group
- Elementos nativos
- Category
- Cupidium
- Matrix
- Agregado sulfuroso
- Associations
- esfalerita, galena, cuarzo, estefanita
- Mine
- Mina Porco
- District / Municipality
- Porco
- Province
- Antonio Quijarro
- Region
- Potosí
- Country
- Bolivia
- Size (cm)
- 4.4 x 3.0 x 2.7
- Weight
- 72.3 g
- Etymology
- From Medieval Latin «plata», a word of uncertain origin used since the Middle Ages to designate the precious metal.
- Quality
- Notable
- Value trend
- Al alza
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