Vanadinite (ATES-0022)

specimen number:
9273213

location:
Mibladen, Ait Oufella Caidat, Midelt, Draa-Tafilalet, Morocco

description:

Beautiful lustrous deep red tabular crystals of vanadinite measuring to 1.8 cm in size in a cluster with very little attached matrix. In super condition.

The Mibladen mining district, located near Midelt in the Khenifra Province of Morocco, is a world-renowned mineral locality famous for producing high-quality vanadinite crystals. Geologically, the deposit is a stratabound, Mississippi Valley-type lead-zinc system hosted within a sequence of Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic dolostones and marls. Mineralization occurred as metal-rich, basinal brines migrated through structural faults and porous carbonate layers, precipitating galena and barite, which later underwent intense supergene alteration to form bright red, hexagonal vanadinite crystals within open solution vugs and clay-filled cavities. Commercial underground mining operations began under French colonial rule around 1927, expanding into a major industrial operation managed by the Companie Royale Asturienne des Mines that extracted substantial quantities of lead ore. Industrial corporate mining ceased in 1975 due to depleted ore reserves, but the site has remained highly active into the twenty-first century through artisanal hand-mining by local miners who strictly target the vanadinite pockets for the international specimen market.

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