JORDANITE
Specimen jor-1

Dims: 1.2x0.7x0.6" (3.1x1.7x1.6 cm)

Wt: 0.42 oz. (12.0g)

Segen Gottes Mine, Wieslock, Baden, Germany

This thumbnail specimen is mostly jordanite, as intergrown balls of botryoidal silver colored crystals. The original surface of the jordanite is uniformly coated with a brown sparkling druse of "shalenblende", a mixture of sphalerite and wurtzite. This coating has been removed in some areas to expose the rounded surface of the jordanite, while most of the exposed mineral is fracture surfaces.

Dims: 1.65x1.54x0.87" (4.2x3.9x2.2cm)

Wt: 1.78 oz. (50.4g)

Segen Gottes Mine, Wiesloch, Baden, Germany

This specimen contains a variety of minerals, but is mostly jordanite. The jordanite occurs in two habits, although neither presents well. The base of the specimen is intergrown crystals of jordanite (everthing black) with some quartz. Some of the crystals show good cleavage, and a few (with the aid of a loupe) show the characteristic deep striations of the species. These crystals are black, opaque, and have a metallic luster. Above this is a layer of a light brown mineral, and then a layer of jordanite with a globular habit, although all of this is only visible from the side - there are no exposed globules, as a layer of somewhat dirty quartz crystals covers the top of the specimen. This jordanite appears massive, as there are no indications of crystals, merely concentric patterns of light quartz and dark jordanite.

Dims: 0.87x0.67x0.46" (2.22x1.71x1.17cm)

Wt: 0.20 oz. (5.54g)

Segen Gottes Mine, Wiesloch, Baden, Germany

This thumbnail specimen consists mostly of jordanite, at least on the surface. It is a rather attractive lead-gray mineral with a high metallic luster. It appears to have a nearly botryoidal habit, although this may be a fracture pattern or even a pseudomorph, as this specimen also contains other minerals, at least one of which is definately in a botryoidal habit. Except for a vein of colorless calcite, I have not identified any of the other minerals, which include a dull green botryoidal crust, a sparkly brown crust, a patch that looks like a metal sulfide, and some tiny black metallic crystals that I suspect are more jordanite, although they are too tiny for me to be sure.