Torbernite

specimen number:
2072143

location:
Menzenschwand, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany

description:
Green thin platy crystallized torbernite scattered sparsely across the top of matrix. Nice locality example for the species. At one time this was part of the collection of Wolfgang Henkel.

The Menzenschwand mining district, located in the southern Black Forest of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany, is situated within the Krunkelbach Valley. Geologically, the deposit consists of hydrothermal uranium mineralization hosted in a complex vein system that cuts through the Hercynian-aged Albtal granite. These veins formed as uranium-rich fluids filled fractures during the late Paleozoic and were subsequently modified by secondary oxidation processes near the surface. Historically, the area was explored in the mid-20th century, specifically between the 1950s and 1980s, as a potential source of uranium for the German nuclear program. Although industrial mining eventually ceased due to environmental concerns and economic shifts, the Krunkelbach Mine remains a legendary site for mineralogists, as it produced an incredible diversity of rare secondary uranium minerals from its oxidation zones, making it one of the most significant radioactive mineral localities in Central Europe.

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