Barite

specimen number:
2341422

location:
Irhoud Mine, Youssoufia, Marrakesh-Safi, Morocco

description:
A cluster of light brown bladed lustrous crystals of barite, these measuring to 1.5 cm in size, across the top of matrix. In great condition. From 2011, the specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Jan Erik Larsen.

Situated in the Marrakesh-Safi region of Morocco, the Irhoud Mine (Jebel Irhoud) is famous both for its unique barite mineralization and its ground-breaking paleoanthropological history. Geologically, the deposit consists of low-temperature hydrothermal veins and replacements hosted within deformed Cambrian limestone and shale strata, yielding distinctive dark gray to black tabular barite crystals alongside associated sulfides like galena. While small-scale mining operations historically targeted these barite and iron ore deposits during the mid-twentieth century, the site achieved world prominence in 1961 when miners accidentally exposed ancient cave deposits. Subsequent scientific excavations uncovered some of the oldest known fossil remains of early Homo sapiens alongside Middle Stone Age artifacts, transforming this former commercial mine into one of the most critical archaeological and geological localities in North Africa.

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