The upper surface of this specimen is encrusted with thousands of tiny (0.1-0.3 mm) hemispherules of bright white dypingite, many of them linked to form curving threads. The matrix is granular, fairly high-grade, franklinite-willemite-zincite-calcite ore. The fracture surface upon which the dypingite was deposited was naturally "stained" dark brown to nearly black by a thin coating of an exceedingly fine-grained mineral not yet studied. This specimen, formerly no. ERV-2342 of Earl R. Verbeek, was donated to the Franklin Mineral Museum in April 2021 and is now their FMM-2518. The identity of the white hemispherules as dypingite was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy.
Identifier: DYP4b Locality: Sterling mine, Ogdensburg Specimen size: 11.5 x 9.5 x 5 cm Photo credit: Richard Schnurr (Fox Tail Images)
