.85" Lustrous Diopside Crystal Cluster - Markikhēl, Afghanistan

This specimen comes from the Ghunday talc deposit in the Nangarhar province of eastern Afghanistan. It is located on the north slopes of the Spin (Speen) Ghar mountain range, where metamorphic rocks including amphibole, gneiss, marble, quartzite, and marble are intruded by Cretaceous plutonic rocks. This deposit produces the highest quality talc (99% purity) in the Spin Ghar mountain range, as well as a variety of minerals that include andradite garnet, clinochlore, diopside, epidote, magnetite, and vesuvianite.