A close-up view of a hematite-stained ore fragment embedded in sussexite from the same specimen shown in photo SSX42a. Note the concentric layering: the ore is rimmed first by white calcite, then dark brown serpentine(?), and finally by a thin, reddish-brown zone of hematite-stained sussexite. The hematite probably formed from iron leached into solution by incipient hydrothermal alteration of franklinite in the ore. Willemite in similarly altered ore is often serpentinized and rendered minimally to nonfluorescent in the process. Field of view is about 3.6 cm across.
Identifier: SSX42b Locality: South limb of the North Orebody, Sterling mine, Ogdensburg Specimen size: 9 x 8 x 4 cm Photo credit: Richard Schnurr