The Story of Vanadinite

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PinkDiamond
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The Story of Vanadinite

Post by PinkDiamond »

I have a small specimen of vanadinite, but it got knocked onto the floor and some crystals dislodged. I'm not even sure where it is right now. Image

You'll learn a lot about vanadinite in this article from Rock & Gem, and the formations they show are spectacular. Enjoy! :)

The Story of Vanadinite

The Mineral Named for a Goddess
By Admin - April 4, 2019

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The dark matrix of this Moroccan specimen sets off the bright red vanadinite crystals perfectly. (private collection)

By Bob Jones


"One of the more attractive and popular lead minerals is vanadinite, a lead chloro-vanadate.

Vanadinite as a collector mineral has been around for years but seldom rose to high status as a display mineral until quantities of brilliant large red crystals surfaced in Morocco. The Moroccan specimens far exceed in size, beauty, and collector appeal anything found elsewhere. Prior to the Moroccan discoveries, vanadinite tended to be just average half-inch sized crystals with uncommon examples of larger sizes. Color ranged from good red to brownish yellow and were found in many desert localities.

Foundation for Formation

Vanadinite is formed as a secondary mineral in desert lead deposits often associated with mimetite and pyromorphite. When first found, vanadinite was recognized as a lead mineral with reference to its red or brown color, which explains why the type locality mineral for vanadium was called “plombo rojo” in Mexico.

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This excellent vanadinite is from Mibladen, Morocco, the source of the world's finest vanadinite specimens. (Photo courtesy Bob Jones)

The discovery of the new element vanadium developed into a complex story in which vanadium ended up being discovered twice in two different minerals in two different countries by two different scientists 30 years apart!

Vanadinite most often forms as simple hexagonal prisms of modest size as very attractive bright red to orange-red color crystals. Moroccan vanadinite makes up for its lack of crystal size by completely covering a matrix in tightly packed clusters and stacks of brilliant rich red multi-crystal heaps.

The initial investigation of vanadinite, which was suspected of containing a new element, was by Andres Manuel del Rio Fernandez of the Royal College of Mines, Mexico City. He was organizing the College’s mineral collection and came across a brown lead mineral labeled “plumo rojo del Zimapan.”

Investigating Vanadinite

The initial investigation of vanadinite, which was suspected of containing a new element, was by Andres Manuel del Rio Fernandez of the Royal College of Mines, Mexico City. He was organizing the College’s mineral collection and came across a brown lead mineral labeled “plumo rojo del Zimapan.”

He decided to investigate the specimen. The crystals were from the Purisma del Cardonel mine, near Zimapan, Mexico. In 1801, after much study, he found a new substance ... "

https://www.rockngem.com/the-story-of-v ... nite040419
PinkDiamond
ISG Registered Gemologist


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