Clinochlore

specimen number:
2062481

location:
Kop Krom mine, Kop Daglari, Askale, Erzurum, Turkey

description:
Attractive sparkling deep purple lustrous crystals of clinochlore, this the variety known as kammererite, measuring to 0.3 cm in size covering the top of matrix. In good condition. This would have been collected in the 1970s.

The Kop Krom Mine, situated in the Kop Daglari region of the Askale district in Erzurum Province, Turkey, was originally operated as a commercial chromium mine before closing permanently in 1991. Geologically, the deposit is set within an ophiolitic ultramafic belt composed largely of serpentinized peridotites and chromite pods, formed through tectonic emplacement in the region's complex suture zones. Within fractures and cavities of these chromite-rich host rocks, hydrothermal alteration facilitated the crystallization of clinochlore, a magnesium-aluminum phyllosilicate. Specifically, the locality is world-famous for producing exceptional specimens of kammererite, a rare chromium-bearing variety of clinochlore prized by mineral collectors for its distinctive, vibrant magenta-to-violet crystal habit.

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