AccessMyLibrary provides FREE access to over 30 million articles from top publications available through your library.

Famous mineral localities: Bou Azzer, Morocco.

The Mineralogical Record

| September 01, 2007 | Favreau, Georges; Dietrich, Jacques Emile; Meisser, Nicolas; Brugger, Joel; Haddouch, Lahcen Ait; Maacha, Lhou; Kampf, Anthony; Devouard, Bertrand; Sarp, Halil; Parodi, Gian Carlo; Weiss, Stefan | COPYRIGHT 2007 The Mineralogical, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)Copyright

Bou Azzer has produced the world's finest specimens of erythrite, roselite, roselite-beta, talmessite, wendwilsonite, skutterudite and gersdorffite. About 215 mineral species have been identified from the district, of which six were new to science: irhtemite, arhbarite, nickelaustinite, wendwilsonite, bouazzerite and maghrebite. Bou Azzer is also considered to be the world's best (or at least second best) locality for the very rare species cobaltarthurite, cobaltaustinite, cobaltlotharmeyerite, karibibite and guanacoite.

INTRODUCTION

Bou Azzer might be translated as "where the fig tree stands." In a little gorge to the left of the road out of Tazenahkt a tiny garden lies hidden, not far from a spring inhabited by many frogs--a rare thing in the barren Anti-Atlas Mountains. An old, stunted fig tree seems to watch over the garden, and it is this diminutive tree which has given a name to the whole, very well-mineralized region thereabouts.

The Bou Azzer mining district encompasses many distinct mines, of which the most famous--from west to east--are Bou Azzer proper, Aghbar (Arhbar), (12) Ightem (Irhtem), Tamdrost and Ait Ahmane. These classic localities have produced the world's finest specimens of erythrite, roselite, roselite-beta, talmessite, wendwilsonite, skutterudite and gersdorffite. As of the end of 2006 the Bou Azzer district had produced about 215 mineral species altogether, and was the type locality for four of them: irhtemite (Pierrot and Schubnel, 1972), arhbarite (Schmetzer et al., 1982), nickelaustinite (Cesbron et al., 1987), and wendwilsonite (Dunn et al., 1987). Two more new species have just been described from the district: bouazzerite and maghrebite (Meisser and Brugger, 2006). Bou Azzer is also considered to be the world's best (or second best) locality for the rare minerals cobaltarthurite, cobaltaustinite, cobaltlotharmeyerite, karibibite and guanacoite.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, journals, and more
Learn more ...(references on minerals)(Bibliography)
Magazine article from: The Mineralogical Record January 1, 2008 700+ words
...OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Bisbee: GRAEME, R...24 (6), 421-436. Bou Azzer district: FAVREAU...mineral localities: Bou Azzer, Morocco. Mineralogical...407. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Bunker Hill mine...
ONA - a leading force in Morocco's mining industry. (ONA Morocco) (Company...
Magazine article from: Mining Magazine August 1, 1993 700+ words
...world's only primary cobalt mine, Bou Azzer, with an output in 1992 of 4,253 t...and east respectively. Cie Miniere de Bou Azzer (CMBA) was established last year to...new cobalt project is expected soon. Bou Azzer was the start of ONA's mining activity...
Cobalt minerals of the Katanga Crescent, Congo.
Magazine article from: The Mineralogical Record Gauthier, Gilbert Deliens, Michel July 1, 1999 700+ words
...Katanga deposits (Democratic Republic of the Congo) 1930: Bou Azzer deposit (Morocco) 1933: Deposits of the Zambian Copperbelt...exceptions where ore containing over 1% Co is found include Bou Azzer, Morocco; the hydrothermal veins in the Cobalt-Gowganda...
Marokko, Land der schonen Mineralien und Fossilien.(Book Review)
Rocks & Minerals Hedegaard, Claus May 1, 2005 700+ words
...fossils or localities, making it difficult to find information. For example, where do you read about Bou Offroh? Under the Bou Azzer heading, but I had to search for it. Most locality chapters have good descriptions of how to get to sites ("turn right...
Tucson Mineralogical Symposium: Minerals of Africa. (Abstracts of the 23rd...
Magazine article from: The Mineralogical Record January 1, 2002 700+ words
...Ligonha pegmatites, Mozambique; the many gem and related deposits, and celestine and quartz occurrences of Madagascar; Bou-Azzer and Toussit, Morocco; the Mount Malosa area, Malawi; Kombat, Guchab, and nearby deposits of the Otavi Mountains, the...
Morocco Mining Report Q1 2009.
Newspaper article from: UMCI News (Potomac Falls, VA) May 24, 2009 700+ words
...amounts and is primarily sourced from the Imiter mine located in the Oriental Anti Atlas. Morocco also hosts cobalt at the Bou Azzer deposit, which is the world's only primary cobalt deposit. Meanwhile, a wave of new investment should result in significant...
RAUDIN Exploration Inc. Completes a 150 000 $ Private Placement and Acquires...
News wire article from: Canadian Corporate News April 26, 2001 700+ words
...is associated with altered ultramafic rocks (serpentine, listwaenite and birbirite) which reflect a resemblance with the Bou Azzer deposits in Morocco, Outokumpu's deposits in Finland and the Sykesville deposit in Maryland (M. Gauthier and al., Economic...
Morocco Mining Report Q4 2009 - The Economically Vital Mining Sector Is...
Press release article from: M2 Presswire November 4, 2009 700+ words
...amounts and is primarily sourced from the Imiter mine located in the Oriental Anti Atlas. Morocco also hosts cobalt at the Bou Azzer deposit, which is the world's only primary cobalt deposit. The Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM...
For more facts and information, see all results
©2009 Gale, a part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
About us | FAQs | Contact us | Privacy policy | Terms and conditions
Other Gale sites: Encyclopedia.com | HighBeam Research | Acquire Content | Books & Authors | Goliath | MovieRetriever | Smart QandA