Gypsum

specimen number:
2341406

location:
Upper Moulouya, Midelt, Draa-Tafilalet, Morocco

description:
An aesthetically arranged cluster of gem colorless gypsum crystal standing straight up from matrix. Measuring 4.0 cm across and 3.0 cm tall, this is in very good condition all around.

The Upper Moulouya region near Midelt, located within the Draa-Tafilalet region of Morocco, is world-renowned for its rich geological deposits and extensive mining history centered along the lead-zinc veins of the Moulouya River valley. Spanning famous mining camps like Mibladen and Touissit, the area features galena-bearing barite veins hosted in Jurassic-age limestone and dolomite formations. Active commercial mining began in the early twentieth century to extract lead and zinc ores, but miners and local collectors quickly discovered exceptional mineral specimens, most notably spectacular tabular vanity-red vanadinite crystals, cerussite, and translucent yellow wulfenite. As large-scale industrial mining waned over the decades, small-scale local specimen mining took over, transforming Midelt into Morocco's principal mineral trading hub where local artisans and diggers supply international collectors with some of the world's finest vanadinite specimens.

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