Miserite

specimen number:
2282034

location:
Union Carbide Mine, Garland Co., Arkansas, USA

description:
Nice example for the species, rich purple masses throughout matrix.

The Union Carbide mine, situated near Hot Springs in Garland County, Arkansas, is a notable open-pit mining operation historically developed for vanadium extraction. Geologically, the deposit is situated within the complex Potash Sulfur Springs intrusive igneous complex, where Cretaceous nepheline syenites and related alkaline rocks intruded Paleozoic sedimentary country rocks like novaculite and shale. This intense igneous activity and subsequent contact metamorphism created highly unusual geochemical environments, enriching the zone in vanadium-bearing minerals along with an array of complex silicates and carbonates. Union Carbide Corporation began systematic open-pit mining operations at the site in the late 1960s, specifically around 1967, to supply vanadium ore for industrial steel alloying. Large-scale mining and active milling of the vanadium-rich material continued through the 1970s and into the 1980s, eventually halting around 1984 when economic shifts and declining ore grades led to the cessation of commercial operations.

Miserite is a complex potassium calcium yttrium rare earth silicate mineral that crystallizes in the triclinic system and is known for its distinctive pink to lavender color. Geologically, it forms as a product of low-grade hydrothermal alteration or contact metamorphism within highly differentiated alkaline igneous complexes, typically occurring in zones where syenitic magmas reacted directly with silica-rich country rocks. The mineral generally occurs as fibrous aggregates, compact masses, or slender prismatic crystals that exhibit a vitreous to pearly luster and a splintery fracture.

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