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Precious and Semi-Precious Stones of Spain

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Precious and Semi-Precious Stones of Spain PRECIOUS AND SEMI-PRECIOUS STONES OF SPAIN GALAN, E(1) and GARCIA GUINEA, J(2) (1) Dpto. de Geología. Facultad de Química. Universidad de Sevilla, Spain. (2) Museo Nacion~l de Ciencias Naturales. Paseo de la Castellana. Madrid-6, Spain. ABSTRACT An investigation of the gemmological potential of Spain has shown that only four minerals,beryl, t topaz, quartz and olivine, have possibility for exploitation and commercialization. Deposits of other minerals, like andalusite, garnet,prehnite, variscite and apatite, could occasionally supply stones of gemmological interest. The majority of these deposits are found in the Iberian Massif (W Spain). Mineralotects are mainly pegmatites with greisen phenomena,contact metamorphism aureoles in pelitic rocks, skarns, hydrothermal ore veins emplaced in granite or pelitic series, supergene alteration of ore bodies and dunite enclaves in Recent basic rocks. The most significant data relating to the prin­ cipal deposits and the characteristics of the minerals of g emmological interst are summarized in this papero INTRODUCTION Spain is a country poor in gems. This is the most evident conclusion that one obtains from ~ the body of research completed during the past six years. In this period, the geological, mineralogical and petrological literature of Spain has been reviewed in detail in search of specific studies or any evidence of gem-minerals. Proceedings oC Ihn 27th lnlcmalional Geológical on rcss. Volumc 15, pp. 355-375 NON-METALLI MINERA O RES © 1984 VNU Science Press Theses and monographs, private reports, and the geologic magazines have been examined. Museums and private and commercial mineral collections have been visited. Requests have been made to professional and amateur mineralogists asking for any information relating to Spanish mineral s with gemmological characteristics. An Occurrence Map describing the quality and quantity of gem-minerals in over JOO locations in Spain has been made from a file of data. More than 200 si tes were visited, and positive visits resulting in the Gemmological Map. Fifty of these locations were studied in detail. For this study of the gem occurrences, detailed maps were used, and materials (mineralizations and country rocks) were characterized by means of microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and chemical analysis. In addition, the minerals of greatest gemmological interest were the object of specific studies, including faceting and polishing tests, determinations of physical and crystal chemistry properties, and investigations of minerallotects and mineral resources. '*"",,-------------- -,.-- A clear idea of the real gemmological potential of Spain has been obtained from this study. The (~ CANARY 'r;;---: areas and mineral s most worthy of prospection and the methodology most suitable for future ~ 100 150 200 Km ! ~cc=ff ~ P investigation have been established. LI ~_ _ ______________\Y;J _ EXPLANA TlON IBERIAN MASSIF(HESPERlC F\.ATEAUI ALPINE RANGES GENERAL OUTLOOK § CANTABAIAN 10N[ {lZLj ~:~~i5ió: ,~ )( ~~E FOAMED IIIIA INlY V77l7l PAlEQZOfC Of 'HE ",TALAN lLLL.LLJ R A H r,;, E D PAECA~8FlI"'N OF' THE HARCEA ANTlFORfoI _ PREIETlC lONE Mineral occurrences and g eologic location .0._ rA~~1~~~ .. ~i;:~NF- ~~:g~~)OHE ~ SUB8ETl C lOHE Fi~-"'';~ PAECAIIIIBAIAN OF TtfE "ou..o DE SAPO " ~ 8HIC (5. S.' ZOHE(A :HEVADO - ... " :. /' AJrlT,roflNe A~ FILA8fHOES COMPLEX) The minerals of possible gemmological interest El::1!fl ~~~Tt~~ ~1:ESR~:d , ~:E,.ATlON _ ..:AMPO DE GIBRALTAR COWPlEX that have been found in Spain thus far are the I::!;:;l PEOAOCHES BATHOLITH [BERIAN RANGE follo\"ing: ~ OSSA - NOflEHA rotE fA : PRfCAIlHlf«AHI ~ ATLAHTI C 0 0 1: : :3 YOLCAN fC fIIIATER IALS a) S~licates :Oli vine ( Oli) , Andalusite (And), A~ t:.UpT,(~~~I~T:'~~~T:~ A~ EA5TERN(A:FOLOED.8 : UHf'OLOEDI Kyani te (Ky) I Topaz (Top) I G-arnet (Gr) I FIGURE l. Tectonic Map cf the Iberian Peninsula, Zircon (Zr ), Idocrase (IdO ), Epidote (Epd), and Balearic and Canary Islands, and Cordierite (Cor), Tourmal ine (Tur) , Beryl Spanish Gem Materials (see text). (Be), Spodumene (Spd), Rhodonite (Rhn), 356 Pyroxmangite (Pyx), Quartz (Q), Felspars apatite, etc. 1n volcanic events are the most (Fel), Prehnite (Prh); noteworthy. Non-Si1icates:Diamond (Dm), Spine1 (Spl), Fluorite, topaz, idocra se, epidoie, garnet, b) malachite, amazonite, beryl, kyanite, etc., Corundum (Cdm), Flourite (Fl), Malachite- associated to metamorphic, volcanic and granitic Azurite (Mch-Az), Rhodochrosite (Rho), rocks have appeared in the axial zone of the Schee1ite (Sch), Variscite (Var), Turquoise Pyrenees. (Tq), Pseudomalachite (Pmch), Apatite (Apt) Pyroxmangite, sanidine, olivine, garnet and F1uorite is listed here in spite of its dubiou tourmaline in relation with volcanic and granitic gemmological interest to indicate the existence rocks and pegmatite veins in Ordovician and of marvellous crystals (blue, green, yellow, r e Cambrian materials stand out in the Catalan found in Asturias and Badajoz. But other perfec Range . and fine crystals have not been mentioned becau Th e Ca nary I s land s are espec iall y interesting they are not traditionally considered gem­ for 01ivin e b ecause of the vocanic origino minerals. These include: the pyrite cubes of Th o t h er tecto nic units ( t h e Iberian Range , Navajún (province of Logroño), the cobalto­ t h e Tertiary basins ) are of no gemm010gical calcite of Peramea (province of Lérida), the interest. beautiful sphalerites of the Peaks of Europe The percentage distribu tion o f the occurren ces (province of Santander), the famous Spanish gem-minerals in rel ation t o the genetical e nvi­ aragonites (green, violet), etc. ronm ent is t h e f ollowing : Intramagmatic 11%, Using the Tectonic Map of the Iberian Peninsul Veins ( of uncert a i n or i g in) 7 . 5% , Hydroth erma l (Julivert et al., 1974) as a basis, one can see 17 . 2% , Greisen 0. 9% , Pegmati t ic 15 .4%, Vo1canic the correspondence between the tectonic and 7 . 9% , Vo lcanic-sed i mentary 1.J%, Regional meta­ lithological characteristics of each of the mo r phism 17 . 2% . Contact me t a mo r phism J. 5% , Skarn ~eotectonic units and its "gemmological capacit 11%, Supergene 1. 8% , a nd Sedime n tary 5 .3%. (Fig.l). Mineral freguency and gem interest The Iberian Massif (the Hesperic Plateau) is, by a large margin, the unit of gratest mineral­ Mineral occ urrenc es of gernmo l og i cal interest gem wealth. The Southern-Portuguese zone is are distributed as f o110ws : oliv i ne 7% , kyanite interesting for its rhodonite, rhodochrosite, 2 . 7% , andalu s i te 4%, t o paz 6. 2& , garne 9 . 7% , j asp er a nd mal a chite-azur i te ; t h e Ossa-Mo rena zircon J. 7% , idocrase 4.4%, epidote 5 .3%, beryl z one f or t opa z, q u art z , ber yl, epidote , garnet, 8 . 8% , t our ma line 1. 8% , spodumene 0 .45% , r hodonite etc.; t h e Pedroches bat holith for turquo ise , 1 . 3%, q u artz 14 .1%, feld spar 0.45% , prehnite ma l ach ite , p seudoma l a chite , etc .; t h e Central ­ 2 . 2% , diamo nd 0.45% , spine l J. 5% , c 01'1 .ndum 3%, Iberian z o n e f or t opaz , beryl, quar tz , andalusi1 f l u o rite 0. 9% , ma1 a chi t e - a zurite 7 . 9% , s c h ~elite spodumene, variscite, apatite, etc.; and the 2 .7%, v arisc i te 0. 9% , t ur quoise 3. 5% , apatite Western-Asturian-Leonese zone for andalusite. 4%, p seudoma1achite 0. 9% . Among t h e Alpi n e r a nges, t h e Betic Range aboun Logic a l1y , t h e percen tages o f mineral s a r e not in gem material s ( esp ecial y i n t h e Betic S . S . rel ated t o t h eir petrographic abundance ; gem­ zone ). Garnet , andalu site , quartz , t ourmali ne , mo 10g i ca1 cri teria were t h e basis f o r se1 ection . kyanite i n metamorph ic material s ; oliv ine , Most of t h e cata10g u e d ccurrenc s are small , spin e l, diamonct (? ) in ul trabasic roc!es ; and making mineral extraction difficu1t. More than agate . garnet , co dieri te , spinel, olivin , 50% of the cited minerals occur as minor petro­ ::¡ graphic components, or occur abundantly but very '":::> 1-z scattered. '"> '" On the other hand, the gemmological quality of ~ the found m~nerals is doubtful in more than 80% :::> '"u. of the cases (for diverse reasons: concentration, size, coloration, fractures, impur it~es, etc.), which is evidence of Spain's gemmological pover­ ty. Only very few of the deposits can be mined. The most interesting minerals are: olivine,topaz, N '" ... '" beryl and quartz, and the follovTing may have secondary gemmological value: andalusite, garnet, epidote, rhodonite, prehnite, fluorite,variscite, turquoise, pseudomalachite and apatite. (j ~ 00 Q) <tz H PRINCIPAL GEM DEPOSITS ~f? Q) -'..Jw'" ~~ ~ :; e o O H ~a. :5 Olivine 5 Q) Of the 15 selected occurrences, only those i\) 0 found in dunite enclaves in Recent basalts of 8 O (¡...¡ the Canary Islands (Lanzarote and Fuerteventura o Islands) and in Canet de Adri (province of Ge­ C> c;;s. N rona) ha.ve gemmological interest (Fig.2). Among ro o. these, the Lanzarote stand out for their olive­ o E-t green colour, transparency and abundance. Size ranges from 0.1 to 1 cm and they are suitable .,-' , 'Oe for cutting. All are forsterite (Fo 80-90), and ro they have not been thus faro ~ ... ! q:{ " ~ Q) r \ 1- e Topaz ~ ·rl , . ? Fourteen deposits of topaz were selected for 'rl r-I study. Topazes appear as accessories in granite o and in beach sands.
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