Famous mineral localities: Bou Azzer, Morocco.

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.

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