Fluorite

📍Adit 3, Kaffenberg, Rittersgrün, Breitenbrunn, Erzgebirgskreis, Saxony, Germany 🇩🇪
Dimensions: 51 / 32 / 25 mm
*Collected in 1952

This specimen displays beautifully zoned fluorite crystals showing alternating yellow and blue color bands on matrix, partially coated with limonite. Also present are vivid red quartz crystals colored by hematite inclusions, known as eisenkiesel, some of which are directly grown on the fluorite faces. The contrasting colors and distinct mineral association create a visually striking and mineralogically significant composition.

The locality, Adit 3 at Kaffenberg Hill near Rittersgrün in Saxony’s Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains), is part of one of Germany’s most historically important mining districts. During the mid-20th century, the area was explored and mined by SDAG Wismut, a Soviet–East German joint company focused on uranium extraction. This particular specimen was collected in 1952, only a few years before the mine’s closure in 1955, giving it a precisely documented and traceable historical context.

Today, the Kaffenberg site is long abandoned and largely overgrown, with no remaining underground access. Well-preserved specimens like this, combining fluorite with eisenkiesel and limonite from this locality, have become exceedingly rare. It represents both a fine example of mineral paragenesis and a tangible piece of the mining history of the Erzgebirge.