Provenite

Mibladen Mining District

AreaClosedDraft data

32.7667° N, 4.6333° W · ± 10 km

Vanadinite from Drâa-Tafilalet, Morocco, with photos of specimens from this locality.

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Minerals found here

Vanadinite

Vanadinite at Mibladen Mining District

Classic Moroccan material from baryte-galena oxidation pockets, widely regarded as the benchmark for collector-grade vanadinite.

Bright red vanadinite crystals on bladed barite matrix from Mibladen, Morocco.
Bright red vanadinite crystals on bladed barite matrix from Mibladen, Morocco.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Cluster of orange-red tabular hexagonal vanadinite crystals from the Mibladen Mine, Morocco.
Cluster of orange-red tabular hexagonal vanadinite crystals from the Mibladen Mine, Morocco.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Parallel-growth cluster of red tabular hexagonal vanadinite crystals from the Mibladen Mine, Morocco.
Parallel-growth cluster of red tabular hexagonal vanadinite crystals from the Mibladen Mine, Morocco.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Formula
Pb₅(VO₄)₃Cl
Color / luster
Orange to bright red, up to brown or almost black (Coud'a workings)
Associated minerals
Mottramitebarytegalenacerussite
History
Described as world-famous for fine vanadinite crystals; a large system of vanadinite pockets was found in the Coud'a workings in June 2001.

Sources: SRC-067 SRC-072 SRC-073

About Vanadinite →

Geology of the locality

Setting
Stratiform baryte-galena deposit in the Atlas Mountains, in a cold semi-arid climate; vanadinite occurs in the oxidized workings.
Type
Sedimentary, Oxidation zone
Host rock
Early Jurassic (Liassic) limestone and dolomite
Region
Drâa-Tafilalet
Country
Morocco

District about 25 km NE of Midelt. Coordinates from Mindat locality page (SRC-072). Industrial mining 1926-1949 with more than 600 shafts; small hand-drilled shafts are still sunk by local miners for specimens. The Coud'a workings (about 32.7397, -4.6836 per SRC-073) are a separate collector-grade sub-site; status listed as Closed for the industrial mine only.

Sources: SRC-072 SRC-073

Sources

  1. SRC-072 · Database
    Mibladen Mining District, Midelt Province, Morocco (Mindat locality loc-2396)Mindat.org contributors · Mindat.org
  2. SRC-073 · Database
    Coud'a workings, Mibladen, Midelt Province, Drâa-Tafilalet Region, MoroccoMindat.org contributors · Mindat.org
  3. SRC-067 · Book
    Handbook of Mineralogy - VanadiniteAnthony, J.W.; Bideaux, R.A.; Bladh, K.W.; Nichols, M.C. · Mineralogical Society of America

Draft data from the Provenite workbook. Check entries against the cited sources before relying on them. Photos are open-licence images from Wikimedia Commons; the author and licence are given with each photo.