Etched Fluorite- Elmwood Mine

A colorful mineral both in visible light and ultraviolet, Fluorite is composed of Calcium and Fluorine and has a wide range of uses from ceramics, metallurgy, optics, and lapidary. When found in nature, many fluorites form isometric shapes, including cubes and octahedrons. Color zoning within these crystals are common, and enhances the beauty of the crystals.

The Elmwood Mine is a zinc mine in Carthage, Tennessee which opened in 1969, before being closed for many years, only to be reopened in 2010. It has produced many world class specimens of Fluorite, Calcite, Barite and Galena over the years. Specimens used to be plentiful as miners were allowed to recover specimens, but collecting is strictly prohibited by the new mine owners. They've gone to great lengths to prevent the mining of specimens, including blasting crystal pockets or filling them with slurry.