Cianciana sulphur mines, Cianciana, Agrigento Province, Sicily, Italyi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Cianciana sulphur mines | Group of Mines (Abandoned) |
| Cianciana | Commune |
| Agrigento Province | Province |
| Sicily | Autonomous Region |
| Italy | - not defined - |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
37° North , 13° East (est.)
Estimate based on other nearby localities or region boundaries.
Margin of Error:
~7km
Type:
Group of Mines (Abandoned) - last checked 2019
Köppen climate type:
Mindat Locality ID:
224581
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:224581:5
GUID (UUID V4):
b5782861-180e-4e03-ad3e-b941c3713a48
Name(s) in local language(s):
Miniere di Cianciana, Cianciana, Provincia di Agrigento (Provincia di Girgenti), Sicilia, Italia
Cluster of sulphur mines near Cianciana including the Falconera mines (Falconera-Grotticelli group), Savarini mine, and Passo di Sciacca mine.
Mining in the surroundings of Cianciana was begun in 1840 by the British company Morrison Seager & Co. The lack of roads inhibited transportation and the mines were closed until a local entrepreneur, Vincenzo di Giovanni, in 1860 made an agreement with the British owners to reopen and operate the mines. Cianciana became the centre of a cluster of 17 mines, employing altogether more than 1,100 workers in 1900-1905. Mining definitively ceased in 1962.
Mining operations evidenced many "garberi" (sing. "garbera", a word derived from "garbu", Sicilian for hollow tree, used by the miners to indicate a large cavity in the sulphur ore vein) which yielded some of the finest specimen ever found in Sicily: aragonite, celestine, gypsum, and lustrous sulphur crystals on a granular calcite matrix. In particular, aragonite was found as colourless to grey penetration twins of prismatic crystals, up to 3 cm or more across; gypsum as large, transparent crystal groups often associated with sulphur; sulphur as crystals, up to 20 cm in size, with faces normally quite smooth and shiny, but sometimes rough because of selective secondary dissolution, growth steps etc.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded from this region.Mineral List
Mineral list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities5 valid minerals.
Detailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Aragonite Formula: CaCO3 Localities: References: |
| ⓘ Calcite Formula: CaCO3 Localities: References: |
| ⓘ Celestine Formula: SrSO4 Localities: References: |
| ⓘ Gypsum Formula: CaSO4 · 2H2O Localities: References: |
| ⓘ Sulphur Formula: S8 Localities: References: |
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Sulphur | 1.CC.05 | S8 |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| ⓘ | Calcite | 5.AB.05 | CaCO3 |
| ⓘ | Aragonite | 5.AB.15 | CaCO3 |
| Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates | |||
| ⓘ | Celestine | 7.AD.35 | SrSO4 |
| ⓘ | Gypsum | 7.CD.40 | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| C | Carbon | |
| C | ⓘ Aragonite | CaCO3 |
| C | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Aragonite | CaCO3 |
| O | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | ⓘ Celestine | SrSO4 |
| O | ⓘ Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Celestine | SrSO4 |
| S | ⓘ Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| S | ⓘ Sulphur | S8 |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Aragonite | CaCO3 |
| Ca | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| Ca | ⓘ Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| Sr | Strontium | |
| Sr | ⓘ Celestine | SrSO4 |
Localities in this Region
- Sicily
- Agrigento Province
- Cianciana
- Cianciana sulphur mines
- Cianciana
- Agrigento Province
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
African PlateTectonic Plate
EuropeContinent
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References
