Lazurite - Hauyne

specimen number:
2063639

location:
Ladjuar Medam, Sar-e-Sang, Kuran wa Munjan, Badakhshan, Afghanistan

description:
Attractive blue blocky opaque crystal of lazurite 1.9 x 1.5 x 1.3 cm in size embedded up on a massive calcite matrix with minor pyrite. In good condition. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark.

Located in the remote Kokcha River valley of Badakhshan, Afghanistan, the ancient Ladjuar Medam mine at Sar-e-Sang is embedded in a complex metamorphic terrane consisting of Precambrian marbles, amphibolites, and gneisses. The primary blue mineral formed through regional high-grade metamorphism and hydrothermal skarn interactions, where sulfur-bearing metasomatic fluids altered calc-silicate layers within the limestone. Continuous mining at this site spans over six thousand years, making it one of the oldest operational gem mines in human history and the definitive historical source of lapis lazuli for ancient Egyptian, Sumerian, and Indus Valley civilizations. While traditionally classified as lazurite, modern analytical studies using single-crystal X-ray diffraction and spectroscopic techniques have re-evaluated the mineralogy, revealing that the vast majority of natural specimens from Sar-e-Sang are actually sulfate-dominant sulfur-bearing hauyne rather than true sulfide-dominant lazurite. Today, the deposit remains famous among mineral collectors for producing spectacular dark royal blue dodecahedral crystals associated with bright white matrix minerals such as calcite, diopside, and phlogopite.

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