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PhotosAcanthite - Daybreak Mine, Mount Kit Carson, Spokane Co., Washington, USA

22nd Mar 2012 00:14 UTCKarl Volkman Expert

Acanthite, Silver, Quartz

Honduras

This location still strikes me as incorrect for the specimen. The Mount Spokane deposits have never had silver reported. There is a Daybreak prospect in the Silver Valley of Idaho which seems a much better fit for producing acanthite specimens.

22nd Mar 2012 02:27 UTCRock Currier Expert

I have added a note to the caption of the acanthite that a number of knowledgeable people think it unlikely that the specimen came from the Daybreak mine.

22nd Mar 2012 14:31 UTCBart Cannon

As a guy who worked for Western Nuclear at the Daybreak Mine in 1969 and 1970, I can verify that acanthite has never occurred there.

Nothing but white Cenozoic alaskite host (granite) autunite, and purported micron uraninite.

The Midnite Mine on the Spokane Indian Reservation, 70 or so miles away had a far more complex mineralogy with sulfides, but no acanthite. It is hosted in Proterozoic schists. As I have mentioned in the past noted indian author and filmaker from Wellpinit on the Spokane Reservation wrote a poem about being able to "smell the uranium" on the Rez. He was smelling oxidizing pyrite. I corrected him, and he corrected his poem.

Just over the hill from the Midnite Mine is the Queen Seal Mine. Fracture surfaces there contain native silver and blebby xls of acanthite along with a suite of other silver minerals.

Bart

22nd Mar 2012 19:39 UTCRock Currier Expert

Bart,

I have added your comments to the caption of the acanthite and silver specimen in question in the Smithsonian Institute.

22nd Mar 2012 21:52 UTCBart Cannon

Rock,

It would interesting to learn who sold or traded the acanthite to the Smithsonian, and who was the curator at the time.

Bart

20th Apr 2012 16:50 UTCDavid Von Bargen Manager

Looking at the Smithsonian's database record for the specimen (R 17303 00), they list it as coming from Honduras.

http://collections.mnh.si.edu/search/ms/

Search Mineralogy tab

Searching on catalog number - 17303

20th Apr 2012 19:57 UTCAlfredo Petrov Manager

Honduras (perhaps the Santa Barbara mine?) makes much more sense. Photo needs to be moved in the Best Minerals article.

21st Apr 2012 03:06 UTCRock Currier Expert

Have changed the locality to Honduras and the caption. I have also changed its location in the best minerals article. I have also emailed Paul Pohwat and asked him if there is any other information in their old written catalogs, perhaps the original Roebling catalog as well. Lets see what he says.

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