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Product Description
Crown of Silver Psilomelane Rough Rock Stone Slab Lapidary
This very RARE rough lapidary stone slab is lovely Crown of Silver Psilomelane and is it 3.5 inches by 3.25 inches and 3 mm thick.
It weighs .22 lbs. and is shown wet in a couple of the pictures, but due to reflection-actually shows its cool silver banding in the dry pictures better!
Crown of Silver Psilomelane comes from the famous Crown of Silver Mine in Mexico. The mine was opened in 1940 for the war effort and was closed in 1947. In the 1950s the mine was reportedly worked by old Mexican miners for the lapidary market before it became unsafe to enter the mine. It was pilfered for a few years and then reopened in 2003, but I understand it was forced to be closed from too many cave ins.
This wonderful stone (pronounced si-lah'-mi-lane) is a type of manganese ore.
Psilomelane consists of hydrous manganese oxide with variable amounts of barium and potassium. It occurs as botryoidal or stalactitic masses with a smooth shining surface and metallic luster.
The name has reference to its appearance, from the Greek for (naked, smooth) and (black).
