Scheelite - Ophir Hill Mine, Tooele County, Utah

Contributed by: Chris Clemens
minID: YLV-VG7
Date: May 21st, 2026
Locality: Ophir Hill Consolidated Mine, Ophir, Ophir Mining District, Tooele County, Utah, USA (See on Mindat)
Size: 10.5 x 6.5 x 10.5 cm
Weight: 302 g

Description:
Brightly fluorescent, submillimeter, octahedral crystals of scheelite on matrix; from the Ophir Hill Mine, Tooele, Utah. The scheelite from this location is often overgrown by calcite, requiring etching/dissolution of the calcite using HCl to expose the underlying scheelite octahedrons.

Located in the Oquirrh (pronounced like "ochre") Mountains, southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah, the Ophir Hill Mine operated between 1870 and 1972, and produced lead, zinc, silver, copper, manganese, and tungsten.

The scheelite octahedrons show a bright blue-white, fluorescent response under shortwave UV (254 nm). Under midwave UV (302 nm), the scheelite shows an unusual orange, fluorescent response.

Originally posted by Chris Clemens on Nature's Rainbows in 2020.