{"title":"Erythrite","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eErythrite\u003c\/strong\u003e, historically nicknamed \"\u003cstrong\u003ecobalt bloom\u003c\/strong\u003e\" or \"cobalt bluthe\" by early miners, is a hydrated cobalt arsenate with the formula Co3(AsO4)2·8H2O. It forms as a secondary mineral in the oxidation zone of cobalt-nickel-arsenic ore bodies, coating and replacing primary arsenides such as \u003cstrong\u003eskutterudite\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003esafflorite\u003c\/strong\u003e. Its intense crimson, magenta and violet-red tones made it a reliable field indicator that miners used for centuries to trace hidden veins of cobalt ore. Crystallizing in the monoclinic system, \u003cstrong\u003eErythrite\u003c\/strong\u003e belongs to the \u003cstrong\u003evivianite group\u003c\/strong\u003e and forms a complete solid-solution series with the nickel arsenate \u003cstrong\u003eannabergite\u003c\/strong\u003e, its apple-green twin; copper-bearing intermediates are now recognized as the distinct species \u003cstrong\u003ebabánekite\u003c\/strong\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eErythrite\u003c\/strong\u003e most typically occurs as dusty pink encrustations, radiating acicular sprays, reniform crusts and stellate or fibrous aggregates, often associated with \u003cstrong\u003ecobaltite\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003ecobaltocalcite\u003c\/strong\u003e (sphaerocobaltite), \u003cstrong\u003escorodite\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eadamite\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003emorenosite\u003c\/strong\u003e. Classic historic type material comes from \u003cstrong\u003eGrube Daniel at Schneeberg\u003c\/strong\u003e in Saxony, Germany, described in 1832, while other well-documented occurrences include \u003cstrong\u003eTunaberg\u003c\/strong\u003e in Sweden, \u003cstrong\u003eJoachimsthal\u003c\/strong\u003e in the Czech Republic, the old cobalt mines of \u003cstrong\u003eCornwall\u003c\/strong\u003e (notably \u003cstrong\u003eWheal Gorland\u003c\/strong\u003e), \u003cstrong\u003eCobalt, Ontario\u003c\/strong\u003e in Canada, the \u003cstrong\u003eBlackbird mine\u003c\/strong\u003e in Lemhi County, Idaho, and \u003cstrong\u003eMount Cobalt\u003c\/strong\u003e in Queensland and the Dome Rock copper mine at \u003cstrong\u003eMingary\u003c\/strong\u003e, South Australia. In most of these classic districts, however, \u003cstrong\u003eErythrite\u003c\/strong\u003e appears only as dull massive crusts rather than well-formed crystals. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe single locality that transformed \u003cstrong\u003eErythrite\u003c\/strong\u003e from a modest crust-forming curiosity into a prized crystal specimen is the \u003cstrong\u003eBou Azzer mining district\u003c\/strong\u003e in the Anti-Atlas mountains of Morocco, particularly the workings around Vein 7, where sharp, lustrous, richly colored bladed and prismatic crystals — sometimes reaching several centimeters and often perched on quartz or calcite matrix alongside native silver and other cobalt-nickel minerals — have set the world standard for the species. This Moroccan material, along with rarer Mg-enriched variants documented from the same district, is what most serious collectors now seek when searching for fine \u003cstrong\u003eErythrite\u003c\/strong\u003e specimens, valued for a color intensity and crystal habit rarely matched elsewhere, despite the mineral's inherent softness, sectile fracture and unsuitability for jewelry use.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[],"url":"https:\/\/www.italmineral.com\/collections\/erythrite.oembed","provider":"ITALMINERAL","version":"1.0","type":"link"}