Here's an unusual specimen with sharp, beautiful, silver ARSENOPYRITE crystals from Panasqueira mines, Covilha, Castelo Branco District, Portugal. The classic apatites from Panasqueira are world renowned, but arsenopyrite from this mine has long been the standard of excellence for this mineral. This is a fantastic specimen that we purchased from a Spanish friend who is the mine engineer at Panasquiera.

The Panasqueira mine is an underground mine that has a long history of production of high-quality wolframite concentrates and is the dominant producer of high-grade tungsten concentrates outside China. In 2007, the mine owners opened a new section of the mine, an area that was originally developed many years ago, but was never brought into production. Investment in new equipment and in developing this new area assure a continued supply of the highly coveted apatite, arsenopyrite, ferberite and quartz crystals from Panasqueira.