Metatorbernite

specimen number:
2063497

location:
Musonoi Mine, Kolwezi, Mutshatsha, Lualaba, DR Congo

description:
Many glistening green platy and micro crystals of metatorbernite, one singular crystal 0.4 cm in size, most much smaller, throughout open pockets in this matrix. In good condition. From the 1990s. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark.

Located near Kolwezi in Lualaba Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Musonoi Mine sits within the Neoproterozoic Katanga Supergroup sedimentary rock formations of the Central African Copperbelt. Hydrothermal and supergene processes enriched these deformed dolostones and siltstones with massive stratiform copper-cobalt ores alongside significant uranium mineral deposits. Secondary oxidation within the unsaturated upper weathered zones produced an extraordinary variety of brightly colored secondary uranyl minerals, including metatorbernite. This hydrous copper uranyl phosphate mineral forms brilliant green, square tabular crystals and flaky mica-like aggregates that grew in open fractures and cavities. Active open-pit mining operations extracted valuable industrial metals throughout the twentieth century, while mineral collectors worldwide prized Musonoi for generating some of the finest matrix specimens and rare micromounts ever recovered from the region.

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