Provenite

Mt Xuebaoding (Pingwu)

AreaUnknownDraft data

32.6758° N, 103.8467° E · ± 10 km

Aquamarine and Beryl from Sichuan, China, with photos of specimens from this locality.

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Minerals found here

AquamarineBeryl

On the same specimen

Same specimen Albite with Beryl

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show beryl with albite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Fluorite with Beryl

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show beryl with fluorite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Aquamarine at Mt Xuebaoding (Pingwu)

Tabular gem aquamarine crystals on matrix from Mt Xuebaoding, Pingwu County, Sichuan, China.
Tabular gem aquamarine crystals on matrix from Mt Xuebaoding, Pingwu County, Sichuan, China.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Light blue tabular aquamarine crystals from Mt Xuebaoding, Sichuan, China.
Light blue tabular aquamarine crystals from Mt Xuebaoding, Sichuan, China.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Two glass-clear tabular aquamarine crystals standing on edge on matrix from Pingwu County, Sichuan, China.
Two glass-clear tabular aquamarine crystals standing on edge on matrix from Pingwu County, Sichuan, China.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Stacked light blue tabular aquamarine crystals from Mt Xuebaoding, Sichuan, China.
Stacked light blue tabular aquamarine crystals from Mt Xuebaoding, Sichuan, China.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Tabular hexagonal aquamarine crystal 5 cm across on matrix from Mt Xuebaoding, Sichuan, China.
Tabular hexagonal aquamarine crystal 5 cm across on matrix from Mt Xuebaoding, Sichuan, China.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Formula
Be₃Al₂Si₆O₁₈
Morphology
Tabular (flat hexagonal) to short prismatic crystals, often stacked on edge on matrix
Typical size
Crystals to about 5 cm across; specimens about 5-11 cm
Color / luster
Light blue, glass-clear to translucent, very lustrous
Availability
Unknown
History
Known as a mineral locality since its discovery in the 1950s

Sources: SRC-740 SRC-741

About Aquamarine →

Beryl at Mt Xuebaoding (Pingwu)

Group of glassy tabular hexagonal beryl crystals on muscovite from Mt Xuebaoding, Sichuan, China.
Group of glassy tabular hexagonal beryl crystals on muscovite from Mt Xuebaoding, Sichuan, China.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Two water-clear tabular beryl crystals with albite and muscovite from Mt Xuebaoding, Sichuan, China.
Two water-clear tabular beryl crystals with albite and muscovite from Mt Xuebaoding, Sichuan, China.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Colourless goshenite beryl crystal with fluorite on muscovite from Mt Xuebaoding, Sichuan, China.
Colourless goshenite beryl crystal with fluorite on muscovite from Mt Xuebaoding, Sichuan, China.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Formula
Be₃Al₂Si₆O₁₈
Morphology
Tabular hexagonal crystals with a dominant basal pinacoid
Typical size
Crystals up to about 3 cm across on the pictured specimens
Color / luster
Colourless (goshenite) to pale blue; transparent, glassy
Associated minerals
Muscovitealbitefluorite
Availability
Unknown

Sources: SRC-688 SRC-690

About Beryl →

Geology of the locality

Setting
W-Sn-Be (scheelite-cassiterite-beryl) mineralization in the Songpan-Garze orogenic belt, related to the highly fractionated Pankou and Pukouling granites
Host rock
Marble
Region
Sichuan
Country
China

Coordinates are those of the Xuebaoding peak from Wikipedia; the mineralized veins lie on the flanks of the mountain in Pingwu County, so the point is only good to about 10 km.

Sources: SRC-689 SRC-690

Sources

  1. SRC-689 · Website
    XuebaodingWikipedia contributors · Wikipedia
  2. SRC-690 · Article
    Genesis of highly fractionated granite and associated W-Sn-Be mineralization in the Xuebaoding area, Sichuan Province, ChinaZhang, Y.; Liu, Y.; Zhu, X.; Raschke, M.B.; Shen, N. · 2021 · Ore Geology Reviews 135, 104197
  3. SRC-740 · Article
    Xuebaoding und Pingwu, Sichuan, China: Bergbau auf Scheelit, Kassiterit, und BeryllOttens, B.; Raschke, M.B. · 2019 · Lapis 11(10)
  4. SRC-741 · Website
    File:Beryl-120251.jpgRobert M. Lavinsky · Wikimedia Commons
  5. SRC-688 · Website
    File:Beryl-174397.jpgRobert M. Lavinsky · Wikimedia Commons

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.