Molybdenite Climax Mine, Lake County, Colorado

摘要

The Climax Mine, located in Lake County, Colorado (Fig. 1), is perhaps the world's largest deposit of molybdenum (Mo) metal. The molybdenum occurs in the form of the sulfide mineral, molybdenite (MoS2), sometimes locally known as "molybedamnite" or "molybedumdumite". The Climax Mine has operated on and off for over 100 years and is still a huge ore reserve today. One would expect some rather attractive molybdenite specimens from such a large deposit, but that expectation would be in vain. Specimens from the Climax Mine typically put real meaning to the term "aesthetically challenged" (Fig.2&3). There have been a few exceptions where decent specimens were collected, but these are very rare.