Calcite

specimen number:
2072217

location:
Bou Azzer, Souss-Massa-Draa, Morocco

description:
Attractive botryoidal pink calcite crystals across the top of matrix. In good condition.

The Bou Azzer mining district, located in the central Anti-Atlas Mountains of Morocco, is world famous as the only locality where cobalt is extracted as a primary product from arsenide ores. Geologically, the deposit is hosted within a Neoproterozoic ophiolite complex, where mineralization occurs along the contacts between serpentinite and quartz-carbonate diorite or schist. The ore bodies consist of complex vein systems containing skutterudite, safflorite, and loellingite, which also produce exceptional specimens of the vibrant pink secondary mineral erythrite. Mining history in the region began in the late 1920s following the discovery of cobalt-bearing outcrops, with industrial-scale production commencing in 1930. The district has been operated primarily by the company MANAGEM and has remained active for nearly a century, continually expanding through the discovery of new veined structures like the Bou Azzer East and Mechoui sectors. Today, it remains a critical global supplier of cobalt and a premier destination for mineralogists studying hydrothermal cobalt-nickel-arsenide systems.

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