Learning CenterWhat is a mineral?The most common minerals on earthInformation for EducatorsMindat ArticlesThe ElementsThe Rock H. Currier Digital LibraryGeologic Time
搜索矿物的性质搜索矿物的化学Mineral Visual ExplorerAdvanced Locality Search随意显示任何一 种矿物Random Locality使用minID搜索邻近产地Search Articles搜索词汇表更多搜索选项
Mining Companies统计会员列表Mineral MuseumsClubs & Organizations矿物展及活动The Mindat目录表设备设置The Mineral QuizTime Machine
╳Discussions
💬 Home🔎 Search🚩 Flagged📅 LatestGroups
EducationOpen discussion area.Fakes & FraudsOpen discussion area.Field CollectingOpen discussion area.FossilsOpen discussion area.Gems and GemologyOpen discussion area.GeneralOpen discussion area.How to ContributeOpen discussion area.Identity HelpOpen discussion area.Improving Mindat.orgOpen discussion area.LocalitiesOpen discussion area.Lost and Stolen SpecimensOpen discussion area.MeteoritesOpen discussion area.Mineral ExchangesOpen discussion area.Mineral PhotographyOpen discussion area.Mineral ShowsOpen discussion area.Mineralogical ClassificationOpen discussion area.Mineralogy CourseOpen discussion area.MineralsOpen discussion area.Minerals and MuseumsOpen discussion area.PhotosOpen discussion area.Techniques for CollectorsOpen discussion area.The Rock H. Currier Digital LibraryOpen discussion area.Recent Images in Discussions
Identity HelpPizzo Forno, Italia?
4th Dec 2025 20:52 UTCProdromos Nikolaidis Expert OP
This is not a specimen ID request but rather a locality question. The epidote specimen shown in the photo above came with a label giving the locality as "Pizzo Forno, Italia". However, it appears that Pizzo Forno is actually located in Switzerland. To complicate things further, epidote is not listed from the Swiss Pizzo Forno.
There is, however, a Pizzo del Forno in Italy, in the Verbano-Cusio-Ossola Province ( https://www.mindat.org/loc-23103.html ). As a locality, this Pizzo del Forno is not listed on Mindat, and the closest listed locality is Pizzo del Bronzo ( https://www.mindat.org/loc-264079.html ).
Is anyone aware of epidote occurrences from this Pizzo del Forno?
Any hints would be much appreciated.
Questions Answered
Can it scratch glass? : Unable to test
Can you scratch it with your fingernail? : Unable to test
Is it light/heavy for the size? : Unable to test
5th Dec 2025 10:18 UTCUwe Kolitsch Manager
Can you show a photo of the label?
Was the specimen obtained from a dealer or a collector?
5th Dec 2025 12:04 UTCProdromos Nikolaidis Expert OP
I obtained the specimen at this year’s Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines show from a Spanish dealer. It appears that the piece may have passed through more than one owner in the past, but unfortunately the dealer did not keep detailed provenance records.
On the left side of the attached photo is the label that accompanied the specimen (actually, it's more like scribbled notes on a piece of paper than an actual label). The number 186 visible on it had been crossed out several times with a pencil; I was able to reveal it after using an eraser.
The specimen itself has a 5 mm sticker affixed to its back with the number 493, as shown in the right frame on the image above.
5th Dec 2025 11:02 UTCHartmut Hensel Expert
I guess it is from Monte del Forno, Val Forno, Upper Val Bregaglia, Bregaglia, Maloja Region, Grisons, Switzerland . The border between Italy and Switzerland is on the mountain and there are mineral finds known from both sides of the border. The italian side is located in Val Malenco (Malenco Valley).
Bedogné et al., I Minerali della Provinica die Sondrio Valmalenco (1993) explicitly list epidote from the italian side. Probably the information in mindat is not complete.
5th Dec 2025 11:09 UTCHartmut Hensel Expert
It is by the way the same mountain as Mt. Forno, Muretto Valley, Chiesa in Valmalenco, Sondrio Province, Lombardy, Italy . It has many different mineral occurences (pegmatites, marbles, Mn occurences etc.).
5th Dec 2025 12:10 UTCProdromos Nikolaidis Expert OP
Thanks very much Hartmut, this seems like a good possibility. I'll wait a couple more days to see if someone else might have a different opinion and if not I think I'll give this location to my specimen. Also I'll take a better picture of it and upload it to the locality page as it seems there are no photos.
Uwe, it seems that there are 3 localities about the same area:
Monte del Forno (CH): https://www.mindat.org/loc-133396.html
Mt. Forno (IT): https://www.mindat.org/loc-210354.html
East slope, Monte del Forno (CH but coords actually in IT): https://www.mindat.org/loc-188890.html
Shall these 3 merged together into one entity or leave them as is?
5th Dec 2025 15:52 UTCGünter Frenz Expert
You can find minerals all around the mountain. There should be one set of coodinates pointing to the Italian side and one or two sets of coordinates pointing to spots on the Swiss side.
5th Dec 2025 16:32 UTCProdromos Nikolaidis Expert OP
So perhaps the best approach would be the following:
We could shift the Mt. Forno (IT) locality (https://www.mindat.org/loc-210354.html) slightly eastward so that its coordinates fall clearly on the Italian side, and rename it Monte del Forno.
Then we could merge the two Swiss entries—Monte del Forno (CH) (https://www.mindat.org/loc-133396.html) and East slope, Monte del Forno (CH) (https://www.mindat.org/loc-188890.html)—into a single locality, and move its coordinates slightly westward so that it is clearly situated within Switzerland.
With that setup, anyone searching for Monte del Forno would see two entries—one in Italy and one in Switzerland—and could select the correct one based on where their specimen was actually found.
An alternative would be to convert the mountain into a non-hierarchical locality with its boundaries defined by a polygon. However, in that case I’m not certain whether the locality would appear in search results when querying from both the Italian and Swiss sides.
5th Dec 2025 16:40 UTCUwe Kolitsch Manager
An alternative would be to convert the mountain into a non-hierarchical locality with its boundaries defined by a polygon. However, in that case I’m not certain whether the locality would appear in search results when querying from both the Italian and Swiss sides.
You could define sublocalities based on the slope ("East slope" - already present; possible: South slope, South-west slope etc.).
版权所有© mindat.org1993年至2026年，除了规定的地方。 Mindat.org全赖于全球数千个以上成员和支持者们的参与。
To cite: Ralph, J., Von Bargen, D., Martynov, P., Zhang, J., Que, X., Prabhu, A., Morrison, S. M., Li, W., Chen, W., & Ma, X. (2025). Mindat.org: The open access mineralogy database to accelerate data-intensive geoscience research. American Mineralogist, 110(6), 833–844. doi:10.2138/am-2024-9486.
隐私政策 - 条款和条款细则 - 联络我们 - Report a bug/vulnerability Current server date and time: 2026.6.3 22:34:55
To cite: Ralph, J., Von Bargen, D., Martynov, P., Zhang, J., Que, X., Prabhu, A., Morrison, S. M., Li, W., Chen, W., & Ma, X. (2025). Mindat.org: The open access mineralogy database to accelerate data-intensive geoscience research. American Mineralogist, 110(6), 833–844. doi:10.2138/am-2024-9486.
隐私政策 - 条款和条款细则 - 联络我们 - Report a bug/vulnerability Current server date and time: 2026.6.3 22:34:55