Magnesioferrite

specimen number:
2354074

location:
Schleingen, Kaiserstuhl, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany

description:
Good example for the species with sharply formed black crystals to 0.3 cm in size mostly covering the top of matrix. In good condition.

Schelingen (often historically spelled Schelingen or Schleingen) is a well-known mineral locality situated within the volcanic complex of the Kaiserstuhl in Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany. Geologically, the region is famous for its rare Miocene alkali-carbonate igneous rocks, particularly the intrusive carbonatites (sovites) formed around 16 to 19 million years ago within the Upper Rhine Graben. Magnesioferrite, a black metallic oxide mineral belonging to the spinel group, occurs here as a contact metamorphic and subvolcanic accessory mineral in silicate-carbonatite contact zones and cavities, often associated with minerals like diopside, hematite, and calcite. While historical mining in the Kaiserstuhl carbonatite zones primarily focused on small-scale exploration for niobium in pyrochlore during the 20th century, the local quarries near Schelingen, such as the Orberg quarry, became famous among collectors for producing small, sharp octahedral crystals and granular masses of magnesioferrite.

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