Vanadinite

specimen number:
9273004

location:
Coud'a workings, Mibladen, Midelt, Draa-Tafilalet, Morocco

description:

A beautiful large loose floater cluster of skeletal red vanadinite crystals. Complete all around and in super condition. A wonderful example for the species.

The Coud'a workings (often spelled Coudia or Koudia, and part of the famous ACF Mine complex), situated within the prolific Mibladen mining district near Midelt in Midelt Province, Morocco, is an iconic underground lead operation internationally celebrated as one of the ultimate global sources for exceptional vanadinite mineral specimens. Geologically, this highly localized deposit is situated within the Upper Moulouya lead district, featuring stratiform and fault-controlled mineralization hosted within Early Jurassic (Liassic) carbonate sedimentary rocks, specifically dolostones and marls. Intense meteoric weathering and surface oxidation of primary galena (lead sulfide) ore bodies allowed circulating vanadate-rich groundwater to react with dissolved lead, precipitating magnificent, fiery red to orange-red hexagonal prisms of vanadinite that are typically anchored onto a highly contrasting matrix of white or cream-colored bladed baryte crystals. Historically, the broader Mibladen district was first explored and mined by French corporate syndicates starting around 1927, leading to a major period of formal, mechanized underground lead-ore extraction that operated continuously under the Societe des Mines de Zellidja and other entities from the 1930s until the high-grade industrial lead reserves were depleted, causing large-scale corporate mining to permanently cease in 1983.

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