{"title":"Aosta Valley","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003eAosta Valley\u003c\/strong\u003e, Italy's smallest autonomous region wedged between the \u003cstrong\u003eMont Blanc\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eMonte Rosa\u003c\/strong\u003e massifs, is a mineralogically dense corner of the Western Alps built from Austroalpine gneisses, Piedmont ophiolitic calcschists, and the Gran San Bernardo nappe. Roman and medieval miners already worked its iron, copper, gold and silver veins, and centuries of extraction at sites such as the \u003cstrong\u003eCogne\u003c\/strong\u003e magnetite mines, the \u003cstrong\u003eServette\u003c\/strong\u003e copper-pyrite complex in the \u003cstrong\u003eSaint-Marcel\u003c\/strong\u003e valley, the \u003cstrong\u003eBrusson\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eChamousira-Fenilliaz\u003c\/strong\u003e gold mine in Val d'Ayas, and the \u003cstrong\u003eOllomont\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eValeille\u003c\/strong\u003e workings have exposed an exceptional variety of alpine-type mineralization, from magnetite and native gold to piedmontese manganese ores.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNo locality embodies the region's scientific fame better than the \u003cstrong\u003ePraborna Mine\u003c\/strong\u003e (Prabornaz) at Saint-Marcel, a thin but astonishingly rich manganiferous quartzite horizon subducted to eclogite-facies conditions. Praborna is the type locality for \u003cstrong\u003epiemontite\u003c\/strong\u003e, the vivid red-violet manganese epidote first described here, as well as for \u003cstrong\u003ebraunite\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eromeite\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003estrontiomelane\u003c\/strong\u003e, and it has yielded prized varietal minerals such as \u003cstrong\u003eviolane\u003c\/strong\u003e (a violet-blue omphacitic \u003cstrong\u003eclinopyroxene\u003c\/strong\u003e), \u003cstrong\u003egreenovite\u003c\/strong\u003e (pink titanite) and \u003cstrong\u003ealurgite\u003c\/strong\u003e. Elsewhere in the region, alpine-fissure pockets in the \u003cstrong\u003eMont Blanc granite\u003c\/strong\u003e around the \u003cstrong\u003eTriolet Glacier\u003c\/strong\u003e and Val Ferret have produced classic smoky quartz, red titanite, anatase, aeschynite-(Y) and fluorite specimens sought by fissure-mineral collectors, while the \u003cstrong\u003eVarenche Mine\u003c\/strong\u003e at Saint-Barthélemy is celebrated for ardennite, arsenopleite, manganberzeliite, pyrophanite, sarkinite and thortveitite. The \u003cstrong\u003eCogne\u003c\/strong\u003e serpentinite-hosted magnetite deposit, one of Italy's largest iron mines, and the gold-quartz veins of \u003cstrong\u003eBrusson\u003c\/strong\u003e and the historic \u003cstrong\u003eStolemberg (Vincent) Mine\u003c\/strong\u003e near Gressoney-La-Trinité near the Monte Rosa massif have supplied fine native gold and pyrite specimens, and rodingite pockets in the Mont Avic area contribute colorful garnet, epidote, diopside and vesuvianite.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCollectors value Aosta Valley material for its combination of alpine crystal aesthetics and true mineralogical rarity: the region is a genuine type-locality hotspot, with Praborna alone accounting for several valid species tied to no other place on Earth, alongside classic gold, magnetite, copper-sulphide and alpine-cleft specimens whose provenance is documented back to historic 18th- and 19th-century mining ventures of the House of Savoy. From museum-grade piemontite in quartz to sceptre-habit smoky quartz from Mont Blanc fissures, the valley remains a reference locality for Italian systematics collections.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"fa16-oro-valle-d-aosta-0","title":"NATIVE GOLD – Yellow Gold Crystals on Quartz, Brusson Mine, Aosta Valley, Italy","description":"\u003cp\u003eA striking specimen of native gold crystallized on a contrasting quartz matrix, recovered from the historic Brusson (Chamousira) Mine in the Italian Alps. The bright yellow-gold aggregates stand out beautifully against the pale quartz gangue, a combination long prized by collectors of Alpine gold specimens. The Brusson deposit, one of the most important gold occurrences in the Italian Alps, has been inactive for decades, making well-formed pieces like this increasingly difficult to find on the market.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMineral Data:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 30 x 24 x 23 mm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWeight:\u003c\/strong\u003e 15 g\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eProvenance:\u003c\/strong\u003e Brusson Mine, Brusson, Aosta Valley, Italy\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"ITALMINERAL","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45460109230189,"sku":null,"price":79.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0693\/8027\/6333\/files\/IMG20260421214022.jpg?v=1784130380"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.italmineral.com\/collections\/aosta-valley.oembed","provider":"ITALMINERAL","version":"1.0","type":"link"}