Strontioginorite

specimen number:
9302258

location:
Kohnstein Quarry, Niedersachswerfen, Harztor, Nordhausen, Thuringia, Germany

description:
A superb single crystal for the species, colorless, lustrous, gemmy, and very sharp. In super condition.

The Kohnstein Quarry, located near Niedersachswerfen in the Harz Mountains of Thuringia, Germany, is a famous industrial site situated within a massive deposit of Permian-aged evaporites. Geologically, the quarry exposes thick sequences of Zechstein anhydrite and gypsum that formed through the evaporation of ancient inland seas. Within these evaporite beds, rare borate minerals crystallized in small nodes and lenses, including the extremely rare species strontioginorite. This mineral is a hydrated strontium calcium borate that typically occurs as tiny, colorless to white, pearly plates or monoclinic laths, often found in association with other borates like priceite or ginorite. Historically, the Kohnstein has been a major source of industrial gypsum for over a century, though it is also notoriously known for the underground V-2 rocket factory built into its tunnels during World War II. Despite its complex history, the quarry remains a site of great interest to mineralogists for its unique geochemical environment, which allowed for the concentration of strontium and boron into rare crystalline forms like strontioginorite.

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