Lengenbach Quarry

=Lengenbach - The Swiss sulfosalt quarry=

specimens. These minerals have been highly appreciated in the past and also today, due to various factors: the rarity and the diversity of the mineral species collected, the notable perfection of crystals... and also for its esthetic contrast with the snowy Dolomite matrix.

Where is the Quarry

The Dolomite deposit of LGB is located in the Binn Valley (other names of this valley are Binntal, Binnatal, Binnathal, Binnenthal), a small valley in the southwest of Switzerland in the Swiss canton of Valais. To its south lies Italy... and Binn. From Binn, after the long tunnel, you must get Imfeld. From this small village, close to the Pius restaurant, there is a single road to the quarry but it is closed to the unauthorized motor vehicles traffic. Walking is 30 minutes to the Lengenbach QuarryDue to its location and its fully Alpine appeal, 1.660 meters, the mine remains closed from autumn to spring, depending on the snow period. However, the quarry is fenced and the public is only allowed to look for minerals in the dump in front of the quarry.

Mineralogy

For nearly 200 years, many mineralogists from Europe have devoted a large number of efforts to study the peculiar mineralization of Lengenbach. Today, the geology of the quarry is known in detail as well as the structure of the crystalline sulfosalts collected there. The systematic studies of the collected minerals have contributed to the Mineralogy with a large number of new minerals never described before. Lengenbach is Type Locality for 28 accepted new minerals, 27 new sulfosalts and 1 new phosphate (2008). This great scientific search effort has been made possible in large part by the foundation, in the year 1958, of the Lengenbach Working Community (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Lengenbach) which has published a good number of articles, notes, books, etc with Lengenbach as the reference.

*A: Acanthite, Albite, Anatase, Anglesite, Apatite-(CaF), Aragonite, Arsenic, Arsenic Sulphide Glass, Arsenolamprite, Arsenolite, Arsenopyrite.
*B: Baileychlore, Baryte,Baumhauerite (TL), Baumhauerite-2a (TL), Bernardite, Biotite, Bornite, Brannerite.
*C: Calcite, Cerussite, Chalcopyrite, Coulsonite.
*D: Dickite, Dolomite, Dravite, Dufrénoysite (TL).
*E: Edenharterite (TL), Enargite, Erniggliite (TL).
*F: Fluorite.
*G: Gabrielite (TL), Galena, Goethite, Gorceixite, Goyazite, Graphite, Greigite.
*H: Halite, Hatchite (TL), Hemimorphite, Hutchinsonite (TL), Hyalophane, Hydrozincite.
*I: Imhofite (TL).
*J: Jentschite (TL), Jordanite (TL).
*K: Kaolinite.
*L: Lengenbachite (TL), Lepidocrocite, Liveingite (TL), Lorándite.
*M: Mackinawite, Magnesite, Magnetite, Malachite, Marcasite, Marialite-Meionite Series, Marrite (TL), Marumoite (TL), Mimetite, Molybdenite, Montmorillonite, Muscovite (Barian Muscovite, Fuchsite)
*N: Nolanite, Nowackiite (TL).
*O: Orpiment, Orthoclase (var: Adularia).
*P: Paragonite, Pararealgar, Phlogopite, Proustite, Pyrargyrite, Pyrite, Pyrrhotite.
*Q: Quadratite (TL), Quartz.
*R: Rathite (TL), Realgar, Rutile.
*S: Sartorite (TL), Seligmannite (TL), Sicherite (TL), Silver, Sinnerite (TL), Smithite (TL), Sphalerite, Stalderite (TL), Stephanite, Struvite-K (TL).
*T: Tennantite, Tetrahedrite, Thalcusite, Trechmannite (TL).
*U: Uraninite, Uvite.
*W: Wallisite (TL), Wulfenite, Wurtzite.
*X: Xanthoconite, Xenotime-(Y).(TL): Type locality (geology)

Bibliography References

* [http://www.grube-lengenbach.ch/Literatur/literatur.html Bibliography references for Lengenbach Quarry]

External Links

* [http://www.lengenbach.com Website of the Lengenbach Quarry. Information about its location, minerals, history, etc. - in English]
* [http://www.mindat.org/loc.php?loc=3207 MINDAT Lengenbach page]
* [http://www.strahlen.org Binntal minerals and many information]