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Les Cougnasses mine, Orpierre, Gap, Hautes-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Francei
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Les Cougnasses mine | Group of Veins (Abandoned) |
| Orpierre | Commune |
| Gap | Arrondissement |
| Hautes-Alpes | Department |
| Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | Region |
| France | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
44° 19' 30'' North , 5° 44' 0'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Group of Veins (Abandoned) - last checked 2018
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lagrand | 312 (2016) | 2.5km |
| Orpierre | 313 (2016) | 3.6km |
| Trescléoux | 295 (2016) | 3.7km |
| Eyguians | 254 (2016) | 3.9km |
| Barret-le-Haut | 260 (2016) | 4.9km |
Host rocks : Callovo-Oxfordian black marlstones.
Complex mineralization in several phases :
1) Early siderite/ankerite precipitation
2) Sulphosalt Pb/Sb deposition with successive replacements (Pb/Sb grows with time).
3) Dissolution of preexisting ore and remobilizations.
Calcite late deposition.
Cryptocrystalline (with fluidal texture) lead sulfosalts (chlorosulfosalts, boulangerite and tetrahedrite) were deposited, after the crushing of massive semseyite along a slickenside.
Ore breccias with collomorph structures of alternating pyrite, sphalerite and sulphosalts.
Old mine (before 1800) : a gallery with small dumps and mineralized outcrops.
============================================================================
This was not exactly a mine but rather a little gallery which is now collapsed (see my photo of the entrance). This gallery was used to research ore of Pb-Sb. I end a study about this site, and like Y. Moëlo on his study, the mineralisations are in veins from about 1 to 10 cm that are walking across the marls of the "Ravin des Cougnasses".
J-L Portes
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ 'Andorite' Formula: AgPbSb3S6 |
| ⓘ Ankerite Formula: Ca(Fe2+,Mg)(CO3)2 |
| ⓘ Aragonite Formula: CaCO3 References: |
| ⓘ Argentopyrite Formula: AgFe2S3 |
| ⓘ Arsenopyrite Formula: FeAsS |
| ⓘ Baryte Formula: BaSO4 |
| ⓘ 'Bindheimite' Formula: Pb2Sb2O6O |
| ✪ Boulangerite Formula: Pb5Sb4S11 Description: Boulangerite has many shapes in this site :
- flexible or hairy with long and distinct needles
- dense hairy
- rigid needles
- short needles like twisted wireframe
- bundles of very short needles crossing other bundles
- ...
All needles that doesn't correspond to the zinkenite description for this site are boulangerite.
J-L Portes |
| ⓘ Bournonite Formula: PbCuSbS3 |
| ⓘ Calcite Formula: CaCO3 |
| ⓘ Cerussite Formula: PbCO3 |
| ⓘ Chalcopyrite Formula: CuFeS2 |
| ⓘ Cotunnite Formula: PbCl2 Description: Only found on oxyplumboroméite deposit on boulangerite or cerussite needles
J-L Portes References: |
| ⓘ Covellite Formula: CuS |
| ⓘ Dolomite Formula: CaMg(CO3)2 References: |
| ⓘ Fizélyite Formula: Ag5Pb14Sb21S48 |
| ⓘ Fülöppite Formula: Pb3Sb8S15 |
| ⓘ Galena Formula: PbS |
| ✪ Geocronite Formula: Pb14Sb6S23 Colour: steel grey Description: Geocronite is very similar to jordanite. I found this mineral in a very little place (about 50 cm in the marls). I found it also in other places, but merged with semseyite.
J-L Portes |
| ⓘ Gersdorffite Formula: NiAsS |
| ⓘ Goethite Formula: Fe3+O(OH) |
| ⓘ Jamesonite Formula: Pb4FeSb6S14 |
| ⓘ Jordanite Formula: Pb14As6S23 Description: I found about ten of mineralized veins in the "Ravin des Cougnasses", in the area studied by Y. Moëlo. I found at this day only one crystal of jordanite. But it is impossible to distinct visually jordanite to geocronite. An analysis is necessary.
J-L Portes |
| ⓘ Malachite Formula: Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| ⓘ Marcasite Formula: FeS2 |
| ⓘ 'Melnikovite' References: |
| ⓘ Native Sulphur Formula: S8 References: |
| ⓘ Oxyplumboroméite Formula: Pb2Sb2O6O References: |
| ⓘ Plagionite Formula: Pb5Sb8S17 |
| ⓘ Playfairite Formula: Pb16(Sb,As)19S44Cl |
| ⓘ Pyrite Formula: FeS2 Description: Pyritospheres in calcite brecciated by ankerite (French BRGM Internal Report 0892-8X-4006). |
| ⓘ Quartz Formula: SiO2 |
| ⓘ Quatrandorite (TL) Formula: AgPbSb3S6 Type Locality: References: |
| ✪ Semseyite Formula: Pb9Sb8S21 Colour: steel gey, very lustrous, brilliant Description: Note: fibrous "semseyite" from this locality is another mineral; semseyite is never fibrous and these fibres are either boulangerite, jamesonite, zinkenite, etc.
========================================================================================================
Semseyite is quite as common as boulangerite.
Semseyite can have four shapes :
- massive in ore veins;
- massive with typically crystallized faces here and there (with striated faces);
- tabular with striated faces (common shape, but rare in the veins) - see my photos;
- "cuneiform" shape (new shape a priori unknown elsewhere) (see my photos). This shape is more commun as the tabular shape, sometimes in big masses with very cut shapes or a multitude of little crystals (< 1mm) with also cut shapes.
J-L Portes |
| ⓘ Siderite Formula: FeCO3 |
| ⓘ Sphalerite Formula: ZnS |
| ⓘ Stibiconite Formula: Sb3+Sb5+2O6(OH) Description: I found about ten of mineralized veins in the "Ravin des Cougnasses", in the area studied by Y. Moëlo. All the analysis I made on yellow needles or yellow deposits have found Pb and Sb elements (this is the reason why I added the oxyplumboroméite in the list of the minerals, the new name of the bindheimite). So, I think that this mineral, if present, is not visible as a mineral species and is merged with oxyplumboroméite.
J-L Portes |
| ⓘ Stibnite Formula: Sb2S3 |
| ⓘ 'Tetrahedrite Subgroup' Formula: Cu6(Cu4C2+2)Sb4S12S |
| ⓘ 'UM1989-16-S:AgClPbSb' Formula: Pb8AgSb8S20Cl |
| ⓘ 'UM1989-23-S:ClPbSb' Formula: Pb17Sb18S43Cl2 |
| ⓘ Valentinite Formula: Sb2O3 References: |
| ✪ Zinkenite Formula: Pb9Sb22S42 Description: Zinkenite can be silver-bearing.
Zinkenite is not present as single or distinct sticks, but as groups of many big fluted sticks without summit, associated with semseyite and boulangerite (see my photos).
J-L Portes |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Native Sulphur | 1.CC.05 | S8 |
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
| ⓘ | Covellite | 2.CA.05a | CuS |
| ⓘ | Sphalerite | 2.CB.05a | ZnS |
| ⓘ | Chalcopyrite | 2.CB.10a | CuFeS2 |
| ⓘ | Argentopyrite | 2.CB.65 | AgFe2S3 |
| ⓘ | Galena | 2.CD.10 | PbS |
| ⓘ | Stibnite | 2.DB.05 | Sb2S3 |
| ⓘ | Pyrite | 2.EB.05a | FeS2 |
| ⓘ | Marcasite | 2.EB.10a | FeS2 |
| ⓘ | Arsenopyrite | 2.EB.20 | FeAsS |
| ⓘ | Gersdorffite | 2.EB.25 | NiAsS |
| ⓘ | Bournonite | 2.GA.50 | PbCuSbS3 |
| ⓘ | 'Tetrahedrite Subgroup' | 2.GB.05 | Cu6(Cu4C2+2)Sb4S12S |
| ⓘ | Jamesonite | 2.HB.15 | Pb4FeSb6S14 |
| ⓘ | Fülöppite | 2.HC.10a | Pb3Sb8S15 |
| ⓘ | Plagionite | 2.HC.10b | Pb5Sb8S17 |
| ⓘ | Semseyite | 2.HC.10d | Pb9Sb8S21 |
| ⓘ | Boulangerite | 2.HC.15 | Pb5Sb4S11 |
| ⓘ | Geocronite | 2.JB.30a | Pb14Sb6S23 |
| ⓘ | Jordanite | 2.JB.30a | Pb14As6S23 |
| ⓘ | Zinkenite | 2.JB.35a | Pb9Sb22S42 |
| ⓘ | Fizélyite | 2.JB.40a | Ag5Pb14Sb21S48 |
| ⓘ | Quatrandorite (TL) | 2.JB.40a | AgPbSb3S6 |
| ⓘ | Playfairite | 2.LB.30 | Pb16(Sb,As)19S44Cl |
| Group 3 - Halides | |||
| ⓘ | Cotunnite | 3.AB.85 | PbCl2 |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Goethite | 4.00. | Fe3+O(OH) |
| ⓘ | Valentinite | 4.CB.55 | Sb2O3 |
| ⓘ | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| ⓘ | Oxyplumboroméite | 4.DH. | Pb2Sb2O6O |
| ⓘ | 'Bindheimite' | 4.DH.20 | Pb2Sb2O6O |
| ⓘ | Stibiconite | 4.DH.20 | Sb3+Sb5+2O6(OH) |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| ⓘ | Calcite | 5.AB.05 | CaCO3 |
| ⓘ | Siderite | 5.AB.05 | FeCO3 |
| ⓘ | Ankerite | 5.AB.10 | Ca(Fe2+,Mg)(CO3)2 |
| ⓘ | Dolomite | 5.AB.10 | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| ⓘ | Aragonite | 5.AB.15 | CaCO3 |
| ⓘ | Cerussite | 5.AB.15 | PbCO3 |
| ⓘ | Malachite | 5.BA.10 | Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates | |||
| ⓘ | Baryte | 7.AD.35 | BaSO4 |
| Unclassified | |||
| ⓘ | 'Andorite' | - | AgPbSb3S6 |
| ⓘ | 'Melnikovite' | - | |
| ⓘ | 'UM1989-16-S:AgClPbSb' | - | Pb8AgSb8S20Cl |
| ⓘ | 'UM1989-23-S:ClPbSb' | - | Pb17Sb18S43Cl2 |
List of minerals for each chemical element
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
Eurasian PlateTectonic Plate
- AlpsAccretionary Complex
EuropeContinent
- The AlpsMountain Range
France
- ⭔DauphinéProvince
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References
Moëlo, Yves; Picot, Paul; Pierrot, Roland (1975) L'indice à sulfoantimoniures de plomb des Cougnasses (commune d'Orpierre, Hautes-Alpes). Partie I : minéralogie du minerai. Bulletin de Minéralogie, 98 (5). 299-307 doi:10.3406/bulmi.1975.7008
Moëlo, Yves; Lévy, Claude (1976) L'indice à sulfoantimoniures de plomb des Cougnasses (commune d'Orpierre, Hautes-Alpes). Partie II. Étude paragénétique. Bulletin de Minéralogie, 99 (1). 38-49 doi:10.3406/bulmi.1976.7060
Les Cougnasses mine, Orpierre, Gap, Hautes-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France