Abstract 2023

Rivista Mineralogica Italiana > Abstract Articoli

Abstract ITALIAN MINERALOGICAL MAGAZINE nr. 1-2023
ANGELO DA COSTA A PIONEER OF THE MODERN MINERALOGICAL COLLECTING IN TUSCANY	Angelo Da Costa (1940-2022) was a master for many of the collectors who follow the pages of the Rivista Mineralogica Italiana, especially for those from his region: Tuscany. Angelo began to collect minerals between the 1960s and 1970s, experiencing the transition from the solitary pioneering period to the organized and participated one of the mineralogical associations. Angelo was a curious explorer and an excellent digger. In 50 years, Angelo has built up a wonderful regional collection based exclusively on specimens self-collected, exchanged or donated by friends. Hanging around Tuscany in search of minerals, he met several generations of collectors, first learning from the elder and then teaching the younger ones. Angelo left a memory of himself in all the people he met, but the trace he cared about most is certainly the selection of specimens from his collection acquired by the Museum of Mineralogy of the University of Pisa, where it will remain forever. Those minerals, in addition to being of considerable aesthetic and scientific value, will continue to tell the stories of his explorations for those who want to try to read the geological history of our planet.
THE DA COSTA MINERAL COLLECTION. THE NEW ACQUISITION OF THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PISA	The mineral collections of the Natural History Museum of the Pisa University are composed by more than 20,000 specimens. Among them, mineral specimens from Tuscany are well-represented, owing to the interest shared by several mineralogists of the Pisa University for the sampling and study of the mineralogical occurrences of this Italian region. Angelo Da Costa previously contributed to increase the mineral collections of the Pisa University through some donations. For instance, he donated the exceptional aggregates of quartz crystals found at Mount Cascetto, in the Monte Pisano metamorphic complex, in 1995 along with Andrea Dini and Marco Lorenzoni. The Angelo Da Costa mineral collection was formed by more than 600 specimens mainly found in Tuscany; most of them were self-collected during a a collecting activity last for 50 years. The Natural History Museum a selection of 33 specimens accurately chosen from his collection. Several outstanding specimens from the Apuan Alps hydrothermal veins were collected by Angelo Da Costa. At the beginning of the 1970s, he discovered some vein systems in the Acqua Bianca valley, in north-eastern Apuan Alps. A very nice hematite specimen, with crystals up to 3.5 cm, and colorless crystals of quartz from these findings have been acquired by the Natural History Museum. Another hematite specimen, from a nearby locality (Vagli), was also added to the mineral collections of the Pisa University. Nice specimens from the old mines occurring in the southern Apuan Alps were also acquired:among them, baryte crystals from the Buca dell’Angina mine, cerussite from the Santa Barbara tunnel, in the Argentiera di Sant’Anna mining complex, aragonite flos ferri from the Canale della Radice mines, and two important specimens of smoky quartz from the Pollone mine. Angelo Da Costa also discovered some vein systems in the Monte Pisano metamorphic complex; two specimens of goethite after rhombohedral carbonates from the Vorno and Sant’Andrea di Compito vein systems are representative of these findings. Angelo Da Costa also explored the mineralogical localities of the Campigliese area. He found nice specimensof quartz and ilvaite crystals in the cavities of the hedenbergite + ilvaite skarns of the Temperino mine; three samples from these findings are now in the mineral collections of the Natural History Museum of the Pisa University. One of them is characterized by a thin coating of iron oxy-hydroxides on the quartz crystals, with a nice aesthetic effect. In the deeply oxidized skarns of the Buche al Ferro, Angelo collected one of the most representative specimens of aurichalcite, associated with colorless hemimorphite. Also this sample is now kept in the Museum’s collections. Some interesting specimens are from the Botro ai Marmi area: a 10-cm fluorite octahedron, a well-developed tabular crystal of allanite-(Ce), nice crystals of “scapolite” and arsenopyrite, a huge individual of “adularia”, and an aesthetic quartz specimen. Four specimens from the Colline Metallifere area were bought from the Da Costa collection. The most spectacular is a specimen of quartz from the Campiano mine, whereas a druse of amethyst quartz from the Gavorrano mine and of sulfur from the Niccioleta mine have only a regional significance. On the contrary, a quartz sample found by Angelo Da Costa within cavities of skarn bodies cropping out in the Val Castrucci area, close to the old mine of Fenice-Capanne, near Massa Marittima, has a very high quality. In the collection of Angelo Da Costa, there were several interesting specimens from other Tuscan localities: antimony ore deposits from southern Tuscany, minerals from the Pitigliano ejecta, gypsum crystals from several evaporitic outcrops, and specimens from the pegmatites of the Elba Island. Shiny stibnite crystals from the Pereta mine, related to the nice findings performed between 1979 and 1981, during the last mining activity at this locality, were acquired by the Natural History Museum, as well as a large specimen of sulfur from the nearby locality of Zolfiere. Another specimen of stibnite from the Montauto mine, not far from the more famous Tafone mine, was also obtained. A specimen f vesuvianite from Pitigliano and large crystals of gypsum from Triassic evaporites cropping out at Roccastrada were added to the Pisa University collections. As regard gypsum, Angelo Da Costa had collected a lot of very well-developed crystals from the Mio-pliocenic formations from several localities (Monti Livornesi, Gambassi Terme): one nice specimen from Gambassi Terme was bought by the Pisa University. Last but not least, a wonderful specimen of tourmaline from the findings performed in 1994 at Forcioni, in the Elba Island, was chosen for the collection of the Natural History Museum. This specimen and the exceptional finding are described in another paper in this issue of the Rivista Mineralogica Italiana.
BOULANGERITE – THE EXCEPTIONAL SPECIMENS FROM THE BOTTINO MINE (APUAN ALPS, TUSCANY)	The occurrence of sulfosalts from the Apuan Alps hydrothermal ore deposits has been known since the 19th Century and currently 25 sulfosalt species have there their type-locality. Several of them are very rare, as for instance the lead-antimony oxy-sulfosalts and oxy-chloro-sulfosalts from the Buca della Vena mine, the complex silver-lead sulfosalts from the Pollone mine, and the Tl-Pb-Hg-Ag-Cu-Sb-As sulfosalts from the Monte Arsiccio mine. However, one of the most significant sulfosalts from the Apuan Alps is boulangerite. Indeed, its specimens found at the Bottino mine can be considered among the best representatives of this species. The Bottino mine is hosted within the Paleozoic basement of the Apuan Alps metamorphic complex and exploited several ore bodies but the major production was obtained from the socalled Bottino ore body. This was represented by a strongly deformed and folded sulfide concentration cut by a shear zone during the Alpine orogeny; along this tectonic structure, sulfides were partially remobilized and reprecipitated. The Bottino ore body was exploited for 400 meters along strike and 350 m along dip, from the outcrops (at 525 m above sea level) down to the 170 m level. It was formed by two main ore shoots, the so-called Sansoni and Orsini columns. These high-grade zones were formed by massive sulfides (galena, sphalerite, pyrrhotite, pyrite) along with minor gangue minerals (quartz, carbonates). Well-crystallized specimens were mainly collected at the hanging-wall of these two columns, where two different kinds of mineralized fissures occurred, i.e., shear and extension fissures. Both fissures probably formed during the late-stage evolution of the Bottino ore body, owing to the rheological contrast between ductile sulfides and brittle country rocks. Most of the historical specimens kept in the old collections (e.g., the Cerpelli collection) were collected in shear fissures, whereas mineral collectors, after the closure of the mine, were able to exploit a lot of extension fissures, because shear fissures were located at the hangingwall of the ore body that was completely extracted during the mining activity. On the contrary, extension fissures propagated within the barren country rocks and were not removedby miners during the mining exploitation. Boulangerite was found in both kinds of occurrence. The actual identification of the plumose specimens of sulfosalts from the Bottino mine was possible only in the 20th Century, when Carlo Lorenzo Garavelli used X-ray diffraction to study them, identifying boulangerite. Previously, several different sulfosalts were erroneously reported (e.g., heteromorphite, jamesonite). For instance, the beautiful plumose specimens were usually labelled as jamesonite in old papers and collections. It is worth noting that no important boulangerite specimens dating to the mining period are kept in mineral collections, the only exception being represented by the specimen 17656 of the Natural History Museum of the Pisa University, previously belonging to the Cerpelli collection. However, also the quality of this specimen is lower than that of those found by mineral collectors during the last fourty years and carefully extracted from the fissuresof the Bottino ore body. The most important findings were performed during the 1980s in the Sansoni zone, and later between 2005 and 2011 in the Orsini zone.
FORCIONI - ELBAITE CRYSTALS FROM THE NORTHERNMOST PEGMATITES OF SAN PIERO (ELBA ISLAND)	In 1994, the careful exploration of the area to the north of Sant’Ilario in Campo (Elba Island) led to the discovery, in the Forcioni Valley, of a new pegmatite vein that had escaped the research of Luigi Celleri (the most famous digger of Elba pegmatites in the XIX century) and the many collectors who, in the past, had explored the area. The polychrome crystals of elbaite extracted from the cavities of this vein rival in quality and beauty with those found in the most famous places in the San Piero area. The Forcioni Valley is located much furthe rnorth than the classic localities of Grotta d’Oggi, Facciatoia, Fonte del Prete and Prado, and it was known in the past only for a few small crystals of blue beryl extracted from small pegmatitic veins. The Med-iterranean maquis north of Sant’Ilario, including the Forcioni Valley, was devastated by a great fire during the summer of 1993. Previously impenetrable areas became easily explorable. In the spring of 1994 one of the authors (A.D.), hanging through the carbonized vegetation, found a beautiful specimen of elbaite in green crystals. It was abandoned near an ancient trench excavated, perhaps by Luigi Celleri, near the locality of Casa Mastaglino in the Gorgolinato Valley. The following autumn, two of the article’s authors (A.+D. and M. L.) organized an expedition to the Gorgolinato Valley to follow up the traces of the specimen which was fortunately found. The old trenches in this valley did not give good results and the exploration was extended to the north, in the nearby Forcioni Valley. One of the authors (M. L.), found small pieces of pegmatite with pink elbaite scattered in the soil of a small thermal fluids. The excavation of the vein was abandoned in January 1995 at a depth of about 3 meters. After that, the expert collector Federico Pezzotta continued the excavation during the Spring 1995, focusing on the southern part of the vein. Federico found a second columnar cluster of cavities from which he extracted some remarkable specimens with elbaite in green crystals. Also in this case, the termination of many crystals was corroded. Federico and Marco tried to deepen the excavation during the spring of 2006 but the results were disappointing. The vein tapered down and the granite host rock became extremely hard to remove. The pegmatite vein of Forcioni Valley represents the northernmost vein of the San Piero-Sant’Ilario pegmatite field to have provided beautiful elbaite specimens.
Abstract ITALIAN MINERALOGICAL MAGAZINE nr. 2-2023
ARAGONITE THE SPECIMENS FROM THE GIUMENTARO MINE (ENNA, SICILY)	Sicily was one of the most important sulfur producers worldwide during the 19th century; this mining activity favoured the collection of beautiful mineral specimens, actively sought by Italian and foreign mineral collectors and dealers. Meanwhile, mineralogical studies led to the discovery of the new mineral melanophlogite as well as to the finding of nice crystals of hauerite. Following the crisis of the Sicilian sulfur mines related to the introduction of the Frash method for the exploitation of sulfur deposits and the increasing production of sulfur as a by-product of oil industry, the last sulfur mines closed in 1988. Currently, it is difficult to find good sulfur specimens, whereas it is still possible to get nice specimens of celestine and, less commonly, of aragonite. The genesis of this kind of ore deposits is related to the so-called “Messinian salinity crisis”, occurred between 5.96and 5.33 My ago, leading to the formaion of thick evaporitic sequences. Sulfur is probably related to the biologially mediated reduction of gypsum (or anhydrite); the oxidation of H2S would had favoured the precipitation of native sulfur, while Ca2+, released by calcium sulfates, combined with CO2 produced by bacterial activity promoted the crystallization of calcium carbonates (calcite and aragonite). Aragonite specimens from Sicily are well-known among mineralogists; several scientists of the 19th century described this carbonate. The most iconic specimens are those found at the Giumentaro mine during the 1970s and 1980s. This mine, located close to Caltanissetta but belonging to the Enna province, was opened in the first half of the 18th century and exploited a sulfur deposit from the outcrops down to ca. 400 m below the ground level (XII level). Aragonite occurs as pseudo-hexagonal prismatic crystals, with colors ranging from white to grey to light green; rarely, light pinkish or brownish crystals have been reported. It is worth noting that, in addition to its beautiful morphology, aragonite from Sicilian sulfur mines shows a remarkable red fluorescence under UV light. The most important finding was performed between the XII and XI level in 1975, when a huge cavity was found, completely lined by well-crystallized druses of aragonite. The story of this exceptional discovery is briefly described. In addition to aragonite, other minerals found in the Giumentaro mine are calcite, celestine, gypsum, and native sulfur.
SULFATES FROM THE COLONNA FORTUNA (ONETA, BG) – NEW IDENTIFICATIONS FROM A CLASSIC LOCALITY IN LOMBARDY (ITALY)	The Oneta mines are located in the Gorno mining district (Orobic Alps, Lombardy) and are easily accessible from Bergamo. These mines were exploited in the past for zinc and lead. Moreover, the mines of the Gorno mining district are well known among mineral collectors for the occurrence of interesting mineral species, e.g., wulfenite. The Oneta mines have always been considered "poor" from the point of view of their mineralogical variety. In fact, no rare minerals have been reported so far. Some years ago, one of the authors of this paper (F.V.) found a peculiar mineral assemblage mainly formed by Cu-Pb-Zn sulfides and their oxidation products in the Fortuna n. 1 level of the Riso mine. Among secondary phases, several sulfates were identified. Some of them are very rare in Italy [e.g., lahnsteinite and beaverite(Zn)], whereas others are here described for the first time in Lombardy, i.e., beaverite-(Zn) [also first Italian occurrence], bianchite, brianyoungite, glaucocerinite, hawleyite, lahnsteinite, osarizawaite, plumbojarosite, ramsbeckite, woodwardite, and zincwoodwardite. Beaverite-(Cu), jarosite, and devilline are first reported for the Gorno mining district. Some of these species may form nice specimens suitable for micromount collections. The sulfate assemblages are located at the stratigraphic contact between the Calcare Metallifero Bergamasco Fm. (Carnian) and the basal black-shales of the Gorno Fm. However, layers of black shales with Cu-Pb-Zn-Fe-sulfides and secondary sulphates have been observed also in the upper portion of the Calcare Metallifero Bergamasco Fm.
Renato Pagano
Abstract ITALIAN MINERALOGICAL MAGAZINE nr. 3-2023
MARCASITE FROM THE DRUŽBA COAL MINE, CZECH REPUBLIC	Beautiful, crystallized specimens of marcasite have occasionally been found in the large Družna open-cast coal mine (Czech Republic). Owing to a special permission granted by the mine management, ten years ago it was possible to organize a field-trip that allowed the collection of several nice specimens by a team formed by Czech and Italian collectors. The Družba mine is located in the large area of the Czech-Bavarian Geopark (www.geopark.cz). The first information about coal production in the Sokolov region dated back to 1642. In the 19th Century, coal began to be used as fuel in industrial plants. At the end of the WWII, 39 underground and 15 open pit mines were active in this area. Over the next years, underground workings were closed one after another in favour of open pit exploitation. The coal production peaked in 1983, with a total production of 23 million tons of coal. Currently, all mining activities are concentrated at the Družba open pit, having a total area of about 50 km2. This mine occurs in the Sokolov Basin, a tertiary tectonic depression bounded to the north and south by two tectonic lineaments, the Krušné Hory Mountains and Ohře faults, respectively. The basin is filled with Tertiary sediments of fluvial, lacustrine, and volcanic origin. Coal was formed in marsh envi- ronments, in those areas where the basin depth was shallower. Two main coal horizons are known. The oldest (and deeper) is named after Josef and is dated at 24 My, whereas the youngest (and shallower) is known as Antonin and Anezka, and it is dated at 22 My. Marcasite specimens described in this paper were collected in the first half of May 2013. In the Družba mine, marcasite-rich area is represented by a large grey clayey horizon, located at the bottom of a coal layer almost completely removed by the mining activity. Marcasite occurs as exceptional arborescent aggregates, up to more than 20 cm in diameter, formed by cm-sized, twinned, shiny crystals. These aggregates “flourished” on a substrate of coal. Unfortunately, marcasite has several conservation issues. For this reason, ten years after the collection campaign, only a part of the specimens has been preserved. However, it was an excellent opportunity to study the phenomenon of marcasite alteration and to discover some useful precautions for its conservation.
QUARTZ SPECIMENS FROM NIRANO (FOSSA VALLEY, FIORANO MODENESE, MO)	Quartz specimens characterized by unusual morphologies were found at Nirano, in the Modena Province (Emilia-Romagna). Specimens were collected in a mineralized outcrop belonging to the Brecce argillose di Baiso Formation, dated to the Eocene. Quartz occurs as fan-like aggregates of tabular crystals, whose peculiar morphology was probably guided by the thinness of the open fractures where it crystallized. Quartz is colorless to milky white, usually transparent. In addition to crystallized specimens, quartz also occurs as the cryptocrystalline variety known as chalcedony that forms aesthetical rounded aggregates, from colorless to yellowish or bluish in color. The occurrence of opal, reported by other authors, was not observed in the specimens examined during this study. Moreover, some rounded aggregates of pseudocubic crystals, first identified as melanophlogite on the basis of their physical properties, are actually quartz. Probably, they could be a kind of pseudomorphosis of quartz after melanophlogite.
SPHALERITE AND GALENA NEW OCCURRENCES FROM THE MONZONI AREA (FASSA VALLEY, TN)	The Monzoni Mountains have been the focus of several geological and mineralogical studies for more than 200 years. This area is well known for its classic specimens of vesuvianite, “fassaite”, and ligh-blue calcite, as well The Monzoni Mountains have been the focus of several geological and mineralogical studies for more than 200 years. This area is well known for its classic specimens of vesuvianite, “fassaite”, and ligh-blue calcite, as well as for gehlenite (first found here), pink anorthite, spinel, garnets, and several zeolites. Currently, about 50 different mineral species are known from this area. Recently, two common sulfides were identified: sphalerite and galena. The former was found in two different localities, i.e., Toal dei Rizoni and Toal dell’Alochét. Samples from this latter locality are particularly interesting, showing aggregates of well developed black crystals of Fe-bearing sphalerite, up to 2-3 cm in size. A reexamination of several specimens kept in the mineral collections of the authors of this paper revealed the occurrence of small crystals of sphalerite, suggesting that this zinc sulfide may be more common than thought in the Monzoni area. Galena was identified on specimens from three different localities: Lago delle Selle, Toal dell’Alochét, and Colifòn. Usually, samples of galena are intere
SHIJIANGSHANITE SECOND WORLD OCCURRENCE FROM LAGO DELLE SELLE MONTI MONZONI FASSA VALLEY, TN	Shijiangshanite, ideally Pb3CaAl(Si5 O 14 )(OH)3 · 3H2O, was recently de- scribed as a new mineral species from the Shijiangshan mine (Hexigten Banner, Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia, China). A second world occurrence of this species is here reported. This mineral was identified on a specimen collected in the thermo-metamorphic aureole at Lago delle Selle (Monti Monzoni), a classic mineralogical site well-known as type locality for gehlenite. At Lago delle Selle, shijingshanite occurs as pseudo-octahedral yellowish crystals, up to 0.2-0.4 mm in size, sim- ilar to those found at the Chinese type locality. Associated minerals are vesu- vianite and calcite. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction data gave the unit-cell parameters a = 8.765(4), c = 39.244(19) Å, V = 2611(2) Å3, space group R3c. In the same occurrence, some Pb- and Cu-bearing secondary minerals have been identified: beaverite-(Cu), bro- chantite, cerussite, creaseyite, chrysocolla, malachite, and posnjakite. As regards creaseyite, this is the first identification in Trentino-Alto Adige.
FIRST ITALIAN OCCURRENCE OF BAGHDADITE FROM THE TOAL DEL MALINVERNO MONTI MONZONI, TN	Baghdadite is a rare Ca-Zr disilicate reported so far in less than 15 locali- ties worldwide. This short paper de- scribes a new finding from the Monti Monzoni, northern Italy. Baghdadite was identified in a specimen collect- ed in 2018 from the well-known lo- cality of Toal del Malinverno, on the northern slope of the Monti Monzoni. Baghdadite occurs as tabular, spear-like, crystals, up to 1 mm in size, colorless, with a vitreous luster, associated with lizardite, in a cavity filled by calcite hosted in massive grossu- lar. The identification of baghdadite was performed through qualitative chemical EDS analysis, showing Ca, Zr, and Si as the only elements with Z > 8, and single-crystal X-ray diffrac- tion. Refined unit-cell parameters of the studied sample are a = 10.426(7), b = 10.181(9), c = 7.366(6) Å, β = 90.51(9)°, space group P21/a.
HEMATITE AN UNUSUAL OCCURRENCE	Specimens of hematite from the Rio Marina mine are well-known world- wide owing to the beauty of their crystals. Since the end of the mining activity, at the beginning of the 1980s, it has been increasingly difficult to find good specimens of this mineral. In this short paper the history of an unusual finding of a nice sample of hematite is reported. The specimen was found by a mason in a hollow within a wall of an old house in Rio Marina, along with a coin dating back to 1866.
Abstract ITALIAN MINERALOGICAL MAGAZINE nr. 4-2023
CINNABAR FROM THE VALLEY OF THE FOSCE STREAM (PISA, TUSCANY)	The valley of the Fosce stream is known among local mineral collectors for a series of well-crystallized species, usually forming nice micromounts. In Spring 2018, in the up- per part of this valley, a very localized mineralization, hosted in a carbonated serpentinite and formed by dolomite+quartz±cinnabar was found. The discovery was promoted by the examination of old geological maps of the area, indicating some zones where quartz veins were mapped. Cinnabar is the most interesting mineral, and it occurs as rounded microcrystalline aggregates, up to 4 cm in size, associated with dolomite and quartz. Dolomite was collected in lenticular or rhombohedral crystals, up to 2 cm in length, whereas quartz can form very shiny crystals up to 1.5 cm.
MINERALOGY OF THE VALLEY OF THE FOSCE STREAM (ERA VALLEY,PISA, TUSCANY)	The valley of the Fosce stream is located close to the hamlet of Orciatico, in the municipality of Lajàtico, in the Era Valley, province of Pisa, Tuscany. Minerals can be found in several outcrops and along the Fosce stream in three different geological settings: i) Argille a Palombini (Palombini shales), ii) basalts and other ophiolitic rocks, and iii) neogenic sediments. The Palombini shales are formed by shales and limestones. Veins and fractures within the latter host sevral different mineral species: anatase, aragonite, baryte, brookite, calcite,chalcopyrite, dawsonite, dickite, dolomite, galena, goethite, pyrite, quartz, siderite, and sphalerite. Among them, dawsonite, whose origin is related to the flux of CO2, can form nice specimens, with hairy acicular crystals, white in col- our, up to 2 cm in length. Basaltic rocks are usually poor in interesting samples. Only analcime can form nice speci- mens, with colorless icositetrahedral individuals up to 2 mm; other species from this kind of occurrence are albite, azurite, calcite, chalcopyrite, epidote, hematite, magnetite, malachite, and “pumpellyite”. Some blocks of hydro-thermalites (i.e.,carbonated and silicified serpentinites) are scattered along the Fosce stream; in addition to nice bipyramidal quartz crystals, less than 5 mm in size, small crystals of millerite, as sprays of brassy yellow metallic crystals, and its secondary products (jamborite?) can be found. Neogenic sediments of the Orciatico area are known since the end of the 1920s for the occurrence of crystals of celestine (“barytocelestine” of old authors) in fractures of carbonate nodules; currently it is very difficult to collect new samples of this mineral, that was associated with minor dolomite, calcite, and, rarely, quartz. In some cases, these carbonate nodules can also host euhedral crystals of gypsum. The identification of the mineral species de- scribed in this paper was achieved using X-ray diffraction, electron microprobe analyses (EDS mode), and micro-Raman spectroscopy.
NEW MINERALOGICAL DATA FROM GREISEN OF THE CUASSO AL MONTE QUARRIES (VA)	The Cuasso al Monte quarries (Varese Province, Lombardy, Italy) are well-known among mineral collec- tors for several remarkable findings of well-crystallized mineral speci- mens. Usually, these samples can be collected within miarolitic cavities and vugs of the pegmatitic facies of the granophyre. Veins of greisen and micro-greisen can be rarely observed. This paper summarizes the results of mineralogical studies performed on mineral samples collected from this latter kind of occurrence that was in itially known for the presence of nice specimens of topaz only. During the last decades, several interesting mineral species were identified. Among them, the most interesting ones are represented by betpakdalite-CaCa, betpakdalite-CaMg, canaphite, petrovskaite, native lead, native tin, and visminorvite. Some of these species can be observed only through electron microscopy on polished sections. However, their occurrence suggests the possibility of finding rare or potentially new mineral species in greisen from Cuasso al Monte.
ITALIAN NEW MINERALS 2022	Three new mineral species were described from Italian local ities in 2022, i.e., sarrochite, napoliite, and manuelarossiite Sarrochite was found in the small dumps of the Bi-Mo prospect of Su Seinargiu, near Sarroch (CA). It occurs in quartz veins, associated with muscovite and, rarely, ferrimolybdite, as pseudo-hexagonal prismatic crystals, up to 0.1 mm in size orange in color. The name of this species is after the name of the municipality where Su Seinargiu is located. Napoliite and manuelarossiite were discovered as sublimates on scoriae from fumaroles related to the 1944 eruption of the Vesuvius. Napoliite is a Pb oxy-halide occurring in aggregates of colorless lamellar crystals, up to 0.25 × 0.25 × 0.01 mm, flattened on {001}, associated with anglesite, artroeite, atacamite, calcioaravaipaite, cerussite, challacol- loite, cotunnite, hephaistoiste, matlockite, susannite, and the other new mineral manuelarossite. This latter species is a Pb-Ca-Al fluoride, structurally related to aravaipaite and calcioaravaipaite. It occurs as colorless tabular crystals, up to 0.06 × 0.04 × 0.015 mm, flattened on {001}. Napoliite is dedicated to the city of Naples, close to the Monte Som- ma – Vesuvius volcanic complex, whereas manuelarossiite honours Manuela Rossi (b. 1977) for her studies on the mineralogy of the Vesuvian area.