The Bou Azzer Co - Ni Mining Complex

The Bou Azzer Mining  complex - Location

The mining district of Bou Azzer is located 35 km south of Ourzazate in the south central Marocco. To reach Bou Azzer from Marrakech take  the road south to Ourzazate. Then you climb the Tizi-n-Tichka pass (2200) crossing the Atlas chain and  reach, 40 km before Ourzazate, the small village of  Amerzgane.Tizi-n-Tichka area is Marocco quartz amethist country; all along this mountain road you may enjoy beautiful mountain scenery and innumerable vendors of minerals.  Amethyst geodes with calcite pyrolusite and barite xls are available but good specimens are rare. Be aware also that most of the times quartz geodes are artificially coloured with sprays but these mineral fakes are easily recognizable and may be purchased with very reasonable prices.   At Amerzgane  you can stop and refresh and then take the right road to Tazenakht.   After 65 Km of a scenery asphalt road you reach Tazenakht and from there take the left access road to Bou Azzer. The road to Bou Azzer is a decent asphalt road and you may reach Bou Azzer in about 40 minutes.  The area is semi desertic, no lodging and restoration is available and to find

Geology

The exceptional  Co-Ni Bou Azzer mining complex is located in the plateau of the Draa region 35 km south of Ourzazate. The cobalt nickel veins occur in Precambrian rocks. Mineralised veins are numerous and occur in the contact zone between serpentine and other rock types for a total length of about 35 km in outcrop.  The   biggest veins are associated with a fault system. Three main type of veins occur: 1) vein in the serpentine; 2) veins in the contact between serpentine and other rocks; 3) mineralised faults. The Ni-Co assemblage is made of skutterudite, rammelsbergite, nickeline and chalcopyrite. Sometimes the Nickel is dominat and the assemblage shifts to nickeline and rammelsbergite as in the Ait Hamane area.  The oxidation zones along the mineralisation extent is extremely  variable. in some mines Erythrite may be found up to 200 m depth while in others is alsmost absent (see Bou Azzer East Mine).

Collecting

The Bou Azzer mining complex is made of several mines opened along the outcrops of the main veins. Most of them are still active (June 2001). Among these we report Bou Azzer and Bou Azzer East, Arbhar, Dambrouse and Ait Hamane. Some are closed as the hystorical mine of Irthem. The search for good mineral specimens in Bou Azzer area often  takes the aspect of an unfruitful hunt. Erythrite, Cobaltocalcite and Roselite are strong in demand but mine management does not admit mineral traffic and therefore you have to be extremely cautious to ask for minerals in  the Bou Azzer village and in the . Our experience is that daylight visits in the village must be absolutely avoided and meetings with miners, in case, may be organised very carefully during  the night time. So you need time and patience to reach some  fruitful result. In any case, despite this difficult environment, Berber's miners  hospitality is lovely and you cannot refuse to share coscous and mint tea inside their houses. Nice specimens are not common and you need a lot of visits to   reach some nice results. In the time of our visit  (May 2001) Erythrite supply in good specimens was extremely poor from Bou Azzer. On the contrary there was a good supply of nice roselite and Wendilsonite specimens from the Arbhar Mine (15 Km east of bou Azzer). Self collecting is possible on the dumps of the abandoned mines such those of Irthem and Ait Hamane and old abandoned galleries are theoeretically accessible.  

Gersdorffite - This very rare sulfo arsenide was found in exceptional xls in the old Ait Hamane Mine, 30 Km east of Bou Azzer. Association is with rammelsbergite, skutterudite, loellingite, nickelin, safflorite, glaucodot, arsenopyrite and maucherite. Gersdorffite occurs in octahedral xls uo to 3-4 cm. Xls are embedded in a green calcite matrix due to the presence of Annabergite.  the most famous secondary mineral of Mibladen mine and the occurrence it is for sure the best   of the world. Vanadinites occur in an infinite variety of color and form ranging all the way from almost black through the browns and dark e  Nickeline - The Ni arsenide is common in most of the veins of the Bou Azzer district and occurs generally as masses of pure mineral weighing several kgs.

                                                                        Secondary    Minerals Assemblage

The Bou Azzer Co-Ni mining complex is famous for a series of secondary rare arsenates.  Some of these occur in a worldwide top quality such as Erythrite, Roselite and Talmessite making the Bou Azzer are a worldwide unique locality for these rare mineralogical species. for We report hereinafter the main secondary minerals occurring in the oxidation zone of the Co-Ni veins of the Bou Azzer minimg complex

Erythrite  - The mineral has been found in excellent crystals at vein 7 of Bou Azzer Mine. Top specimens may have xls that  reach 4-5 in length. The mineral is very soft therefore undamaged specimens are rare. The quality of crystals varies a lot; some are dull an altered or coated with film of annabergite or pharmacosiderite. Sometimes talmessite balls are associated. In general only small xls are of a deep vivid purple colour with high luster and transparency.  The largest xls are barely translucent or dull. Erythrite in the Bou Azzer mine occurs also as pink acicular xls forming globular aggregates. Erytryte is present also in other mines of the District but nice specimens are rare. At Arbhar the mineral occurs in smal xsl uo to 3 mm in massive skutterudite. Bou Azzer East mine has note an oxidation zone in which Erytrite could form. Nice specimens may occur sometime at the old Ait Hamane mine and these may be easily recognised; Ait Hamane erythrite xls are of a deep purple colour with a vivid luster and are associated with white quartz xls   micro skutterudite xls in vugs.

Roselite - Roselite occurs in the Bou Azzer Miniing district in remarkable specimens, the best of the world. The best supply of Roselite xls is the Arbhar mine where top quality specimens  show xls with a gemmy brilliant purple colour of  6-8 mm in size. The typical matrix is a vuggy white dolomite imbedded in serpentinite. Occasionally xls up to 10 - 12  mm   occur. In some specimens the matrix is very vuggy  and roselite is associated with centimetric pink cobalto-calcite xls. In the last time several Wendilsonite specimens have been recovered from the Arbhar mine. 

Lavendulanite -  It has been found as blue nodules to 3-4 mm in size in vuggy quartz mostly from the Bou Azzer Mine (vein 7). it has also been reported occasionally from the Arbhar mine.