Sphalerite with Barite, Pyrite

specimen number:
2341337

location:
Bou Nahas Mine, Oumjrane, Alnif Cercle, Tinghir, Draa-Tafilalet, Morocco

description:
Attractive combination specimen with slightly translucent deep red crystals of sphalerite to 0.8 cm in size scattered across the top of a cluster of diamond-shaped lustrous pale yellow and highly translucent barite crystals. Crystallized golden pyrite present as well. This is a floater that is complete all around with no points of attachment. In great condition all around. From 2015, the specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Jan Erik Larsen.

Copper exploitation at the Bou Nahas Mine in the Oumjrane district of Morocco dates back historically to the Middle Ages or earlier, with formal modern operations initiated during the French colonial period before being abandoned in the mid-1970s, and later successfully re-opened around late 2011. Geologically, the deposit is situated within the eastern Anti-Atlas region, where steeply dipping polymetallic hydrothermal veins cut across Upper Ordovician detrital sedimentary rock units such as sandstones, quartzites, shales, and marls. These primary vein systems are associated with post-Variscan hydrothermal activity and local faulting, while subsequent supergene alteration and oxidation processes between the Jurassic and Neogene periods produced secondary mineralization zones rich in carbonates and native metals.

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