Fluorapatite with Siderite

specimen number:
9507108

location:
Panasqueira Mines, Sao Jorge da Beira, Covilha, Castelo Branco, Portugal

description:
Very attractive lustrous tabular purple translucent crystals of fluorapatite measuring to 1.5 cm in size across the top of a crystallized siderite matrix. This is in great condition. Very good color for the species with good contrast on this siderite matrix.

The Panasqueira Mines in Beira Baixa, Portugal, opened in 1898 and, aside from a brief temporary closure in 2003, remain actively in operation today. Geologically, the deposit is hosted within a sequence of late Precambrian to Cambrian metasedimentary rocks, primarily consisting of greenschist-facies shales, slates, and greywackes of the Beira schist formation. The mineralization occurs as a sub-horizontal system of quartz veins rich in tungsten, tin, and copper, which are genetically related to an underlying hidden Hercynian granitic pluton emplaced during the Late Carboniferous period.

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