Vanadinite - Specimen

Locality: Mibladen Mining District, Morocco

In 1801 the mineralogist Andrés Manuel del Río, working at the Real Seminario de Minería in Mexico City, analysed a "brown lead" ore from Zimapán, Mexico, and reported a new element in it. He later called it erythronium, for the red colour of its salts. French chemists who tested his sample decided it was only chromium, and he withdrew the claim.

About thirty years later the Swedish chemist Nils Gabriel Sefström found an unknown element in iron ore from Taberg, Sweden, and it was named vanadium after Vanadís, a name of the Norse goddess Freyja. Friedrich Wöhler then showed that vanadium was the same element del Río had found in the Zimapán brown lead, the mineral we now call vanadinite.

Mibladen lies about 25 km northeast of the town of Midelt, between Morocco's High Atlas and Middle Atlas mountains. Its lead deposit sits in Jurassic (Liassic) limestones and dolomites. Lead deposits there were first reported in 1907, and the Société des Mines d'Aouli worked the area from 1926, producing lead concentrate for export to France.

This one of a kind Vanadinite specimen from the Mibladen Mining District features a bright Hexagonal-bipyramidal crystal formation laid succinct and presentational across an entire face of the matrix. Its depth of color zoning emphasized against the sandy stone upon which it has formed offers a sense of inner warmth, heightening the multitudes of its structure. The mineral's high Vanadium content comes through in the rich rouge of its color, spreading evenly from the largest facet, to the smallest drusy. Its consistent shade, paired with the sharp, geometric edges catching the light brings an almost glistening shine, as if the specimen had been pulled from a river. 

Originally discovered in Mexico in 1801, Vanadinite an uncommon, and curious mineral. It contains the previously undiscovered element, Vanadium, and is classified as a secondary mineral, occurring only as the result of chemical alterations to pre-existing materials, primarily the oxidation of lead rich minerals such as galena, or barite.

Vanadinite is sometimes called the "caffeine crystal" used to boost energy, mental focus, and creativity, often acting as a grounding tool for manifesting ideas into reality. It connects deeply with the root and sacral chakras, aiding in discipline, overcoming procrastination, and providing endurance for long projects.

Chemical Composition: Pb5(VO4)3Cl

Quantity: 1pc
With this product, you will get the actual stone in the photograph.