Vividly Fluorescent Calcite from the Sweetwater Mine, Reynolds County, Missouri

Contributed by: Chris Clemens
minID: 577-YCM
Date: May 21st, 2026
Locality: Sweetwater Mine, Ellington, Reynolds County, Missouri, USA (See on Mindat)
Size: 13.7 x 11.8 x 21.1 cm
Weight: 4.02 kg

Description:
This vivid fluorescent specimen is from a classic midwestern location, the Sweetwater Mine, Ellington, Viburnum Trend District, Reynolds County, Missouri. It features light tan/yellow, waxy texture, scalenohedral, calcite crystals on a matrix of intergrown galena, with minor sprays of brassy chalcopyrite. Under midwave UV (302 nm), the calcite shows a beautiful bright pink/magenta, fluorescent response, but is only dimly fluorescent under shortwave and longwave UV (not shown). There is also a light coating of an unidentified mineral on the galena matrix that fluoresces pale blue/white, providing an aesthetic contrast to the more brightly fluorescent calcite.

Originally posted by Chris Clemens on Nature's Rainbows in 2021.