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Panasqueira mine
 There
is a great mine that is still active within the Iberian peninsular: the mine
of Panasqueira, in the Beira Baixa region of Portugal. The current low price
of Wolfram and the competition from other sources means that commercial operation
is tough. But for all this, this classic locality has for over 100 years produced,
and keeps on producing, fine specimens. These include exceptional specimens of
Apatite-(CaF), Ferberite, Arsenopyrite, Siderite, Quartz and numerous other species
such as: Chalcopyrite, Sphalerite, Dolomite, Calcite, Mica, Tourmaline, Fluorite,
Topaz and Triplite. It has also produced some very rare minerals including Panasqueiraite
and Thadeuite. The great feature of these specimens, apart from their quality,
is the fact that they almost always combine quite a few mineral species, so the
paragenesis has made this mine famous throughout the world.
I
started to visit this locality when I was 14 years old, and I have never stopped
visiting it since. So I must have been to visit it well over a 100 times. For
many years the sale of mineral specimens from the mine was forbidden, as Wolfram
was a strategic mineral. So the moments I passed there acquiring specimens could
form the basis of quite an exciting book! Over the years I got to know miners,
shift managers, administration staff, engineers and geologists. Some were friendly
while others were not, but they were all interested in not only the money they
could obtain from 'as pedras' ('the rocks' in Portuguese) but also the beauty
of the specimens.
Quite
a few years ago, and at the same time as Portugal began to change after its entry into the European Union,
things began to become easier. However, unfortunately, obtaining good specimens has one again got more
difficult, but this time due to the way the mine is worked and the lower grade seams. All that said,
I'm still 'trapped' by the beauty of the minerals and the large number of friends I have developed over
all those years.
If
you want more general and scientific information on this great mine you can get
it by following
this link. It leads you to a page where we have reproduced text and photos
from one of the few publications produced by the mine itself.
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