TREPČA / STARI TRG MINERAL COLLECTION

The mineral collection of  Trepča / Stari Trg mine contains minerals from one of the most important European lead and zinc mines. It is unique for its crystalline clusters - druses, not only of the main ore minerals galena (PbS) and sphalerite (ZnS), but also of numerous other accompanying mineral species. Among them, the most abundant are pyrite, pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, (Mn, Fe, Mg, Ca)-carbonates and quartz, but crystals of rare minerals such as vivianite, ludlamite and childrenite are also important. Such druses are ideal for the study of paragenetic relationships and crystallization processes, and numerous studies have been carried out on them so far. The collection dates back to 1925 and is one of the oldest collections of minerals from Trepča in the world.