Baryte with Fluorite

📍Pöhla-Tellerhäuser Mine, Schwarzenberg, Erzgebirgskreis, Saxony, Germany
Dimensions: 92 / 75 / 36 mm
*Specimen from the 1980s

This specimen comes from the renowned Pöhla-Tellerhäuser Mine in the Ore Mountains (Erzgebirge) of Saxony, Germany, one of the most representative mineral localities of the former East Germany. Golden baryte crystals elegantly rest on a quartz matrix, underlain by a striking layer of fluorite showing vivid, dynamic color zoning that transitions smoothly from deep purple to orange-yellow and finally to honey-yellow. Tiny pyrite crystals scattered across the surface add a touch of metallic sparkle. The specimen is fully three-dimensional and displays beautifully from all angles, with outstanding composition and color contrast.

Originally explored only for small-scale tin and tungsten prospects before World War II, the Pöhla Mine was later developed extensively during the late war and Cold War periods by SDAG Wismut, a joint East German–Soviet company, for uranium exploration and extraction. During underground work in the 1980s, miners discovered numerous pockets containing perfectly crystallized and vividly colored baryte and fluorite clusters. These were carefully collected and exported to Western markets for foreign exchange, and today, surviving specimens of such quality are exceedingly scarce.

This piece perfectly illustrates the classic paragenetic sequence of the Pöhla locality: early quartz deposition followed by fluorite formation and finally baryte crystallization within open cavities. The multicolored zoning in the fluorite reflects complex variations in the mineralizing fluids over time. With the mine closed and flooded since the early 1990s, well-preserved and representative display-quality specimens like this have become increasingly rare and highly sought after.