VANADINITE ON BARITE

Mibladen, Aït Oufella Caïdat, Midelt Cercle, Midelt Province, Drâa-Tafilalet Region, Morocco

12.7 cm tall x 14 cm wide

The Drâa-Tafilalet Region of Morocco, best known to collectors simply as Mibladen, is the birth place of this vanadinite. The earliest reference to vanadinite from Morocco, in a mineral collector publication, is the Mineralogical Record of 1970; "The vanadinite specimens coming from Mibladen, Morocco are perhaps the finest ever produced anywhere. Large as these crystals are, they are very sharply defined in habit and run a gamut of colors from bright red to rich brown."

(1970). What's New in Minerals. Mineralogical Record, 1(1 Spring), 32.

This vanadinite was mined in 2017. The Morrocan mines have been extremely prolific in producing vanadinite, but, like all species, there is a quantifiable selection of qualities that the very top pieces share. For vanadinite, the primary qualities would be: large, well-defined crystals with fiery red color on a white barite matrix. This example epitomizes those characteristics thus placing it among the very best known examples.