Offered here is a 22-piece collector lot of genuine Bessie G Mine telluride ore specimens from the historic Bessie G Mine, La Plata Mining District, La Plata County, Colorado.
These specimens were personally collected from the Bessie G Mine on privately owned property. They are not secondhand specimens, old-stock material purchased from another collector, or material of uncertain locality.
These specimens have direct mine-to-collector provenance and documented origin from the Bessie G Mine.
This is an unusually diverse group showing multiple styles of mineralization. The specimens were individually selected and numbered, and the photographs show the actual 22 pieces included in this lot.
The close-up photographs show examples of mineralization present throughout the group. Under magnification, several pieces display attractive dark metallic, silver-gray, bronze/gold and iridescent metallic mineralization associated with crystalline quartz and altered host rock. Mineralization occurs as distinct metallic masses, crystalline aggregates, seams, blebs and disseminations through the quartz.
Lot Highlights
- 22 individual Bessie G Mine directly from the Bessie G Mine
- Legally collected on private property
- Direct mine-to-collector provenance
- Historic La Plata Mining District, Colorado
- Telluride-bearing ore with quartz and altered host rock
- Numerous visible metallic mineralized zones
- Silver-gray to dark metallic telluride material
- Bronze/gold-colored and locally iridescent metallic mineralization
- Fine crystalline quartz and quartz-lined cavities on several specimens
- Individually numbered specimens
- Excellent material for telluride collectors, Colorado mining collectors, ore microscopy, mineral study or display
The storage tray shown in the photographs measures approximately 13.5" × 8", providing a useful scale reference for the entire lot.
DOCUMENTED BESSIE G TELLURIDES & MINERAL SPECIES
The Bessie G is particularly noted for its complex gold-silver-mercury telluride mineralization. Published mineralogical and locality records document an extensive mineral assemblage from the mine.
Documented telluride and tellurium-bearing species include:
- Calaverite – AuTe₂ – gold telluride
- Krennerite – Au₃AgTe₈ – gold-silver telluride
- Sylvanite – AgAuTe₄ – gold-silver telluride
- Hessite – Ag₂Te – silver telluride
- Petzite – Ag₃AuTe₂ – gold-silver telluride
- Coloradoite – HgTe – mercury telluride
- Altaite – PbTe – lead telluride
- Stützite – Ag₅₋ₓTe₃ – silver telluride
- Montbrayite – complex gold-silver telluride
- Magnolite – mercury tellurium mineral
The Bessie G is also documented for native gold, including gold intimately associated with the telluride assemblage.
OTHER DOCUMENTED BESSIE G MINERALS
Other mineral species reported from the Bessie G include:
Native Gold • Quartz • Cinnabar • Acanthite • Pyrite • Marcasite • Arsenopyrite • Chalcopyrite • Galena • Sphalerite • Tetrahedrite-group minerals • Freibergite-group minerals • Miargyrite • Baryte • Calcite • Dolomite • Siderite • Hematite • Dickite • Epidote • Muscovite/Sericite • Roscoelite • Pickeringite • Szomolnokite
This diverse mineralogy is one of the characteristics that makes genuine Bessie G material particularly interesting to collectors of Colorado telluride deposits.
ELEMENTS REPRESENTED IN THE DOCUMENTED MINERAL ASSEMBLAGE
The documented mineral species from the Bessie G contain a broad range of elements, most notably:
Gold (Au) • Silver (Ag) • Tellurium (Te) • Mercury (Hg) • Lead (Pb) • Copper (Cu) • Iron (Fe) • Zinc (Zn) • Arsenic (As) • Antimony (Sb) • Bismuth (Bi) • Sulfur (S) • Silicon (Si) • Barium (Ba) • Calcium (Ca) • Magnesium (Mg) • Aluminum (Al) • Potassium (K) • Vanadium (V)
The mine's principal historically recognized commodities include gold, silver and tellurium.
About the Bessie G Mine
The Bessie G is a historic precious-metal mine in Colorado's La Plata Mining District, an area famous for complex gold, silver and mercury telluride mineralization.
Historical mineralogical work on Bessie G ore documented calaverite occurring intergrown with krennerite, petzite, hessite and coloradoite. Hessite was reported as an especially important telluride in Bessie G ore, while later geological work describes coloradoite as the mine's most abundant telluride, with hessite and petzite among the common precious-metal-bearing tellurides.
Native gold is also a documented component of Bessie G ore and can occur intimately associated with the tellurides. Secondary AU occurrences have been proven to have transpired through the supergene hydrothermal process.
IMPORTANT: The mineral list above represents species documented from the Bessie G Mine as a locality. It is not a claim that every listed mineral occurs in every or any specimen in this 22-piece lot. Individual metallic grains and crystals in these particular specimens have not been laboratory identified species-by-species.
Please enlarge and examine all photographs. Much of the character of these specimens becomes apparent under magnification, where the metallic mineralization, crystal structures and relationships between the tellurides and quartz can be seen much more clearly. DUE TO FILE LIMITS, CLOSE UP PICTURES ARE NOT PROVIDED FOR EACH SPECIMEN.
These are natural, self-mined specimens, so natural fractures, oxidation, staining, matrix and irregular edges should be expected. A couple pieces are cut, but unpolished. Specimens were wetted for photography.
You will receive all 22 specimens pictured.
This is an opportunity to acquire a substantial group of authentic, directly sourced Bessie G Mine material with documented private-property provenance, rather than specimens that have passed through multiple dealers or collections.
Sold as collectible mineral specimens. No representation is made regarding recoverable precious-metal content or assay value.
All associated mining properties are privately owned, patented properties and are NOT open to the public.
Search Keywords:
Bessie G Mine, Bessie G Colorado, La Plata Colorado, La Plata Mining District, self mined, private mine, private property mineral, telluride ore, gold telluride, silver telluride, calaverite, sylvanite, krennerite, hessite, petzite, coloradoite, altaite, stutzite, native gold, Colorado mineral specimen, gold ore specimen, silver ore, telluride specimen, rare mineral, historic mine, ore specimen, mineral collection
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