WULFENITE

ABOUT THE SPECIMEN

Fiery orange wulfies on matrix from the Ahmad Abad Mine in central Iran, a locality that has quickly become a legendary one for the species. Originally beginning production around 200 years ago, it was rediscovered for specimen mining in the last couple decades before the tunnels were collapsed a few years ago, making the mine nearly inaccessible and likely destroying the vast majority of the remaining specimens. The intense orange hues represent the very best color of these finds, as most you'll see from here are beige to pale orange - only a couple of pockets produced specimens like this. What's really interesting is the different habits visible. Some are more thin and platy, characteristic for this locale, some are a little thicker with beveled edges reminiscent of Arizona wulfenites, and in a couple cases you have multiple crystals intergrown to produce one larger piece. Displays beautifully from multiple angles.

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Ahmad Abad sits roughly 80 km northeast of Bafq in the Yazd-Anarak Metallogenic Belt, where Pb-Zn mineralization is hosted in Upper Paleozoic through Cretaceous dolomite and limestone - a non-sulfide deposit in which carbonate and silicate replacement of primary ore created the oxidized environment favorable to secondary phosphate, molybdate, and carbonate minerals. Historical documentation places the mine in active lead production during the Qajar dynasty, with ore extracted to supply military use as far back as the early nineteenth century. Wulfenite crystallizes here as tabular to blade-like individuals on white calcite matrix, predominantly deep orange with a distinctive structural feature documented across several pockets - a clear outer zone of near-colorless wulfenite encasing an intensely colored orange core, with minor plattnerite inclusions at the boundary. The associated mineral suite is notably complex for a single oxidation zone: willemite, mimetite, fornacite, hydrozincite, and minium have all been documented alongside wulfenite on individual specimens. Material first entered Western dealer networks after a 2002 Geological Survey of Tehran rediscovery report, with meaningful specimen production beginning around 2018; geopolitical constraints and US sanctions have made consistent export difficult, keeping supply chronically irregular relative to the quality the deposit can produce.