Proustite

specimen number:
9302320

location:
Imiter mine, Souss-Massa-Draa, Morocco

description:

Prismatic lustrous red slightly translucent crystal of proustite. In very good condition.

The Imiter mine, located in the eastern Anti-Atlas Mountains of Morocco, is a premier silver deposit known for producing exceptional specimens of wire, dendritic, and crystalline native silver, often associated with proustite, acanthite and imiterite. Geologically, the deposit is a Neoproterozoic epithermal vein system hosted within Neoproterozoic black shales, siltstones, and volcanic rocks of the Saghro Group. Silver mineralization occurred during late-stage hydrothermal events when precious-metal-bearing fluids filled major regional fault structures, precipitating high-grade native silver and silver sulfides in quartz-carbonate veins. While local exploitation dates back to ancient Islamic operations between the eighth and thirteenth centuries, modern commercial mining began in 1969 under the Societe Metallurgique d'Imiter. The mine underwent major expansions in the 1980s and 1990s as rich new underground sectors were discovered, and it continues to operate today as a highly productive mechanized underground mining complex, supplying the international market with both industrial silver and collector-quality specimens well into the 2020s.

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