This is a medium sized fire ant colony cast. This one is a little more compact than the typical fire ant casts around this size. The soil type and other factors contribute to how shiny a cast turns out and this one turned out very shiny, probably the shiniest one so far. But still, it's aluminum poured into the ground so it's not mirror shiny. As usual, it's just a maze of hundreds if not thousands of interconnected tunnels and chambers. I got some aluminum in the actual surface mound but it did not cast completely as you can see. So, most of what you see is the colony below the surface.

The cast is displayed upside down from its natural orientation and sits on three round wood risers attached to an oval wood base. The base was purchased at a hobby store and stained with no clear coat, giving it a nice natural look. There are three 1-1/4" round wood risers which support the cast in its proper orientation. There is no mounting between the cast and the base so the cast can be taken on and off the base for viewing. The bottom of the base has four felt pads to protect the surface it is displayed on. A stainless steel plaque is mounted on the base engraved with the cast information.