History · Geology
About Linwu Mine
The Linwu mining district (centered on the Tongshanling Pb-Zn-W skarn deposit) in southern Hunan Province is one of China’s premier polymetallic ore districts. It produces collector-grade galena, sphalerite, wolframite, and cassiterite crystals from skarn and vein-hosted ores, with active mining operations supplying both industrial concentrates and specimen-grade material to the international collector market.
Geology & Signature Specimens
The Linwu district sits within the Nanling tungsten-tin metallogenic belt and hosts skarn-type and hydrothermal-vein orebodies developed at the contact between Late Jurassic granitic intrusions and Devonian carbonate sequences. Sharp galena cubes, gemmy red-brown sphalerite, and iridescent wolframite blades are the signature collector species. Calcite, quartz, and pyrite form gangue and matrix backdrops.
