Calcite with Hematite Phantoms

Santa Eulalia is one of Mexico’s classic mineral localities, with mining dating back to the 1700s. The district became famous for its extensive underground mines and exceptional variety of collector minerals.

Hematite phantoms form when earlier crystal growth is coated or marked by hematite before the calcite continues growing, preserving an earlier stage of the crystal inside. This gives the specimen a distinctive “crystal within a crystal” appearance.