Forcella di Fellaria, Scerscen Valley, Lanzada, Sondrio Province, Lombardy, Italyi

Regional Level Types
Forcella di Fellaria	Mountain
Scerscen Valley	Valley
Lanzada	Municipality
Sondrio Province	Province
Lombardy	Region
Italy	- not defined -

Various mineral occurrences in serpentinite on the western slope of Sasso Moro, in the area of Forcella di Fellaria.

In particular:
- Rodingite dyke to the west of Forcella di Fellaria at an elevation of 2700 m. Two main mineral associations are found in rodingite: andradite-hydrougrandite, diopside, magnetite, perovskite, and vesuvianite; andradite, diopside, and clinochlore (Bedognè et al., 2003). Colourless to white apatite crystals, more than 1 cm in size, in association with black, brown or greenish garnet, clinochlore, vesuvianite, and titanite have been found in erratic blocks in the valley descending towards Alpe Musella (Benetti, 1987; Bedognè et al., 1993).
- Perovskite-calcite veins to the west of Forcella di Fellaria, above the path leading from Alpe Musella to Capanna Carate Brianza, on the western slope of Sasso Moro. Perovskite, as brown crystals up to 15 mm, is associated with magnetite and clinochlore.
- Calcite veins in serpentinite, cropping out at an elevation of 2600 m towards Sasso Moro. They contain titanclinohumite, forsterite, magnetite, diopside, and clinochlore (Gramaccioli, 1962). Recently, also sulphide grains (including galena, bornite, sphalerite, and chalcopyrite) have been found.

Furthermore, rutile, titanite, muscovite, and chalcopyrite embedded in feldspar rock have been found below Forcella di Fellaria, at an elevation of 2810 m (Gramaccioli, 1962).

An actinolite schist crops out to the west of the pass, at 46.326596 N, 9.920371 E (Swiss coordinates 798.370/131.410, according to Dietrich & De Quervain, 1968), at the tectonic contact between the Malenco serpentinite and biotite gneiss of the Margna nappe.

Note on “Ti-bearing clinohumite, titanclinohumite”:
according to the analyses performed, this mineral in the Malenco valley serpentinite is practically fluorine-free (Trommsdorff and Evans, 1980). Therefore, after the institution of the new species hydroxylclinohumite in 1999, all records of “titanclinohumite” in the antecedent literature and specimens preserved in public and private collections consequently labelled are now Ti-bearing hydroxylclinohumite (Bedognè et al., 2006).

Provided coordinates (improved) are referred to Forcella di Fellaria to be intended as the starting point for researches.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References