Fluorite, Quartz
Posted by: macadmin on 04.19.2020 | Filed under:

Fluorite, Quartz

Specimen # 100691
Mineral: Fluorite, Quartz
Location: Sidi Ayed, Boulemane Province, Morocco
Size: 9.0 x 7.5 x 5.7 cm
Specimen # 100691
Mineral: Fluorite, Quartz
Location: Sidi Ayed, Boulemane Province, Morocco
Size: 9.0 x 7.5 x 5.7 cm

Description

A sharp yellow fluorite cube (0.9 cm) sits centred on a bed of quartz crystals. This fluorite contains a couple of very small blue-green zones, so it has a bit of a greenish hue, not common for these. In excellent condition – no damage. (The front corner of the fluorite is a crystallized surface – it is a natural feature as opposed to human-induced damage.) Really nice!


About These Fluorites

Although Moroccan yellow fluorite is often attributed to “Aouli”, an abandoned historical mining complex which is not producing specimens, contemporary specimens are in fact from an area near Sidi Ayed. Although it is road-accessible, it is relatively remote in a barren, windswept area which sees sandstorms in the dry weather and roads washed out in the rain. These fluorites nice for Sidi Ayed specimens, for a few reasons – they are isolated on quartz crystals, rather than massed together with missing or cleaved crystals (which is more typical), some of the quartz has some nice red colouring from hematite, and a few of the fluorite crystals show tiny irregular zones of greenish blue colour.

If you are curious about this area, there are a few photographs in Morocco: The Northern Sahara and the Atlas Mountains (Part 2)(click here)after the section on Mibladen.

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