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Spectacular Stibnite

A close-up of the Spectacular Stibnite.

With hundreds of sword-like, metallic blue-gray crystals sprouting from a rocky base, the 1,000-pound stibnite on display in the Grand Gallery is one of the Museum's most spectacular mineral specimens. Stibnite (Sb2S3), a compound of the elements antimony and sulfur, occasionally forms nests of delicate, six-sided crystals, but examples this large and intricate are exceedingly rare. This unique specimen was spared from destruction by alert miners in the Wuning (Wuling) antimony mine in Jiangxi Province of southeastern China. Stibnite is most commonly pulverized and heated to extract the antimony and make flame retardants and engine bearings.