Wushan Spessartine Mine, Tongbei, Yunxiao Co., Zhangzhou, Fujian, China (original) (raw)
Wushan Spessartine Mine, Tongbei, Yunxiao Co., Zhangzhou, Fujian, Chinai
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Wushan Spessartine Mine | Mine |
| Tongbei | Village |
| Yunxiao Co. | County |
| Zhangzhou | Prefecture-level City |
| Fujian | Province |
| China | Country |
Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
23° 54' 21'' North , 117° 11' 53'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:21240:4
e2ef7a96-b102-4ce8-a5eb-69580afb7d4f
Name(s) in local language(s):
乌山锰铝榴石矿, 通北, 云霄县, 漳州市, 福建省, 中国
The first specimens of Chinese garnet associated with smoky quartz and feldspar appeared on the market in 1998. The locality cited was the city of Lechang, in Guangdong Province; only at the end of 2001, some dealers gave the province of Fujian as the true locality and Yunxiao as the nearest large city.
Samples come from two or three main collecting sites: the first lies near the village of Tongbei, southwest of Yunxiao; the second is at Yunling in Zhangpu County, about 30 km further northeast. At Tongbei, helvine and topaz occur, but no fluorite, which is present only at Yunling.
Guanghua Liu actually mentions three localities in his book “Fine minerals of China” on page 336: 1) Tonbei, Yunxiao Co.; 2) Shuijingping, Yunxiao Co.; and 3) Yunling, Shiliu, Zhangpu Co.
The discovery of these localities took place 15 years ago. Granitic rocks originated as intrusions during the late Mesozoic, as a result of the subduction of Paleo-Pacific Plate under the continental plate of southeastern China.
NOTE: The feldspar associated with the spessartine is microcline, not orthoclase as originally reported.
NOTE: According to B. Ottens there is no such thing as a "Spessartine Mine" at Wushan - this is a fiction of an Chinese dealer; the spessartines came from numerous small workings and quarries ...
"The name “Wushan” is a misnomer according to B. Ottens who has written that it was a name invented by a Chinese dealer so as to give a more precise locality to his spessartine specimens" (https://www.mindat.org/mesg-651608.html).
NOTE: This information is given from the Nanjing University:
There is an 800 km long Cretaceous granitic belt exposed in the southeastern coastal of China, it occurs from Guangdong through Fujian and extends to Zhejiang provinces. At this stage there are many locations that produces miarolitic cavities with different mineral specimens. There are over 20 different locations, and one third of them have spessartine. Most of the miarolitic cavity minerals were exposed by granite mining. Tongbei village represents the first place where people do systematic mining of the specimen, which is actually illegal unless you mine for granite building materials. A labelling as Tongbei-Wushan hill is OK, the Tongbei is the name of the village and the Wushan actually means Wu mountain. Wushan is now a protected national park so collecting minerals from the exposed granite is prohibited. As for the “Yunling village” - there is no such place and the description in Ottens’ book should be wrong, caused by incorrect information. However there are several locations between Yunxiao and Suian (location where Ottens describes as Yunling village) that produce miarolitic minerals and they belong to the Jingangshan granite pluton, a similar sized pluton to Wushan. It is complicated and there is no need to know because 99.9% of the spessartine-quartz specimens you can bought in the market came from Wushan pluton around Tongbei village.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz
Chemical Elements
Mineral List
18 valid minerals. 1 erroneous literature entry.
Detailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ AlbiteFormula: Na(AlSi3O8)References: Norman King and various dealers |
|---|
| ⓘ BerylFormula: Be3Al2(Si6O18)Colour: pale greenDescription: xls up to few mm long. References: (n.d.) |
| ⓘ CalciteFormula: CaCO3References: Lavinsky, Rob (n.d.) Specimens previously handled by The Arkenstone. |
| ⓘ ClinochloreFormula: Mg5Al(AlSi3O10)(OH)8References: www.fabreminerals.com Moore, Thomas P. (2002) What's New in Minerals - Tucson Show 2002. The Mineralogical Record, 33 (3) 261-275 |
| ⓘ FluoriteFormula: CaF2Habit: octahedral xlsColour: colorless, pale green, pale to dark blueReferences: (n.d.) |
| ⓘ HelvineFormula: Be3Mn2+4(SiO4)3SHabit: pseudo-octahedral xlsColour: yellow, with dark surface coatingsDescription: xls rest either on feldspar or on smoky quartz. Helvite xls were found at Tongbei at the end of 2001 and the first xls collected had a dark surface coatings. Helvite xls discovered at later times lack the dark surface coatings but it is suspected that such pieces have been treated in Tongbei with HCl. References: (n.d.) |
| ⓘ HematiteFormula: Fe2O3Habit: tabular xlsReferences: (n.d.) |
| ⓘ ManganiteFormula: Mn3+O(OH)References: See also Nowlan, Gary A. McHugh, John B. Hessin, Thomas D. , 1983, Origin of concretionary Mn-Fe-oxides in stream sediments of Maine, U.S.A., Chemical Geology, vol. 38, issue 1-2, pp. 141-156. |
| ⓘ MicroclineFormula: K(AlSi3O8)Description: Rarely Manebach twins have been observed and characteristic of microcline. Feldspar xls in near surface pockets are often seen to be in the process of kaolinization. References: various added photos |
| ⓘ MilariteFormula: K(◻H2O)Ca2(Be2Al)[Si12O30]Description: xls up to 0,5 mm. References: Ottens, Berthold (2005) Tongbei Spessartine Localities, Fujian Province, China. The Mineralogical Record, 36 (1) 35-43 |
| ⓘ MolybdeniteFormula: MoS2References: Philip Bluemner Collection |
| ⓘ MuscoviteFormula: KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2References: King, Van (n.d.) Personal communcation. |
| ⓘ OpalFormula: SiO2 · nH2OColour: WhitishFluorescence: Bright green (SW UV)Description: Thin whitish crusts on orthoclase crystals and spessartine crystals.References: Ottens, Berthold (2005) Tongbei Spessartine Localities, Fujian Province, China. The Mineralogical Record, 36 (1) 35-43 |
| ⓘ Opal var. Opal-ANFormula: SiO2 · nH2OColour: WhitishFluorescence: Bright green (SW UV)Description: Thin whitish crusts on orthoclase crystals and spessartine crystals.References: Ottens, Berthold (2005) Tongbei Spessartine Localities, Fujian Province, China. The Mineralogical Record, 36 (1) 35-43 |
| ⓘ |
| ⓘ PyriteFormula: FeS2Habit: cubic xlsReferences: (n.d.) |
| ⓘ QuartzFormula: SiO2References: dan weinrich |
| ⓘ Quartz var. Smoky QuartzFormula: SiO2Description: xls up to 30 cm. References: Ottens, Berthold (2005) Tongbei Spessartine Localities, Fujian Province, China. The Mineralogical Record, 36 (1) 35-43 |
| ⓘ SchorlFormula: NaFe2+3Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH)References: (n.d.) |
| ⓘ SpessartineFormula: Mn2+3Al2(SiO4)3Habit: trapezohedric xlsColour: orangeReferences: Ottens, Berthold (2005) Tongbei Spessartine Localities, Fujian Province, China. The Mineralogical Record, 36 (1) 35-43 |
| ⓘ TopazFormula: Al2(SiO4)(F,OH)2References: Ottens, Berthold (2005) Tongbei Spessartine Localities, Fujian Province, China. The Mineralogical Record, 36 (1) 35-43 |
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