Zunyite, Big Bertha Mine, La Paz County, Arizona
Contributed by: Chris Clemens
minID: 1QA-C4Y
Date: Apr 19th, 2026
Locality: Big Bertha Mine, Middle Camp-Oro Fino Mining District, Dome Rock Mountains, La Paz County, Arizona, USA (See on Mindat)
Size: 30 x 27 x 67
Weight: 52 g
Description:
Named after its type locality, the Zuni mine in San Juan County, Colorado, zunyite is an uncommon aluminum sorosilicate mineral that shows a soft, cherry red fluorescent response under shortwave UV. The specimen shown here features hundreds of small tan octahedral crystals of zunyite in a matrix of mostly non-fluorescent milky quartz. This example is from a classic location for this material- the Big Bertha mine in La Paz County, Arizona.
Originally posted by Chris Clemens on Nature's Rainbows in 2020.
Summary of luminescence responses:
Zunyite (Mindat) (RRUFF)
- Fluorescence under Shortwave (254nm Lamp/Mercury) UV light: Red