Description
A wonderful specimen with a 6.5 cm measurong spray of mustard yellow Diopside crystals from the Orford Nickel Mine. The crystals are sharp with pronounced prisms and square cross sections. They have a vitreous luster, and most of the terminations are great. The deposit of the Orford Mine was first explored for Copper in 1860, however, it turned into the first Nickel mine in Canada back in the late 1870s. The mine never produced large quantity of Nickel during its active mining days from 1877 to 1882. There are reports that some small Diopside crystals can still be found, as well as nice acicular Millerite on/with deep green 1-2 mm measuring Grossular, all mineral species for which the mine was famous for.