Goslarite with Chalcanthite

specimen number:
9302309

location:
Rammelsberg, Harz, Lower-Saxony, Germany

description:
From the type locality, a cluster of crystallized goslarite with minor chalcanthite. In good condition.

The Rammelsberg mine, located near the town of Goslar in Lower Saxony, Germany, is a historically monumental lead, zinc, copper, and silver deposit that operated continuously for over a millennium. Geologically, it is a classic sedimentary exhalative deposit consisting of massive polymetallic sulfide lenses hosted within highly deformed, folded Devonian slates and sandstones of the Harz Mountains. The ore bodies formed on the ancient seafloor from hot, metal-rich hydrothermal fluids venting into an anoxic marine basin, creating rich accumulations of galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, and barite. Mining activity at Rammelsberg is documented as early as 968, serving as a primary economic engine for the Holy Roman Empire and fueling the growth of Goslar. The underground workings utilized advanced early engineering techniques, transitioning through centuries of state and corporate ownership until the ore reserves were finally exhausted, leading to the permanent closure of the industrial mining operations on June 30, 1988.

Goslarite is a secondary zinc sulfate mineral that typically forms as an alteration product in the oxidized zones of zinc-bearing sulfide deposits. It is highly soluble in water and frequently forms delicate, efflorescent crusts, stalactites, or fibrous aggregates on the walls of damp, historic underground mine workings where sphalerite has undergone weathering. The mineral was officially named after its famous type locality at Rammelsberg near Goslar, where its occurrence was documented early in the history of mineralogy.

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