Madielle quarrying basin, Massa, Massa-Carrara Province, Tuscany, Italyi

Regional Level Types
Madielle quarrying basin	Group of Quarries
Massa	Commune
Massa-Carrara Province	Province
Tuscany	Region
Italy	Country

This marble quarrying basin is localized few km ENE from Massa city and includes:

- the Madielle quarry group, located in the Campo Francesco-Costa degli Ilci area, on the right hydrographic side of the Fosso delle Madielle depression, is the main quarrying area of the basin; a veined variety of marble, commercially known as Bianco Venato is presently exploited here by four active quarries (Marianna Bassa and the three Madielle quarries);

- the inactive Campaccio quarry (Polla dell'Omomorto) [44°2'32"N, 10°11'48"E] and Monte Carchio quarries, located southwards at higher elevations;

- the active underground Caprara quarry (Capraia quarry), located east-northeastwards at the foot of the northern slope of Monte Focoraccia.


The Madielle quarry group is the area of the quarrying basin in which have been found the greatest number of mineral species; all of them occur inside cavities of the particular boudinage of the dolomitic formations inside the so-called veined marble. Tetrahedrite is the most typical mineral of these quarries.


The area of the Madielle quarrying basin is characterised by the presence of the Madielle and Focoraccia (Capraia) synclines, which in the geological literature are interpreted as minor structures of Vinca-Forno anticline hinge zone. The Focoraccia syncline (or Capraia syncline) flanks are made up of carbonate formations ("Grezzoni" dolostones, Megalodon-bearing marbles, Seravezza Breccias (Brecce di Seravezza)[deriving from a discontinuous Late Triassic formation stratigraphically at the top of the "Grezzoni" dolomitic formation] and Marble sensu stricto) of Norian and Hettangian age, that overlay the Hercynian Basement. Instead, the Madielle syncline flanks consist of carbonate formations ("Grezzoni" dolostones, Megalodon-bearing marbles, and Marble sensu stricto) aged between Norian and Hettangian, and the core is made up of silico-carbonate formations (Zebrino-type marble [i.e., a striped marble consisting of dm-thick layers of white-yellowish marbles regularly alternated with thinner beds of chlorite-muscovite-rich grey-greenish metalimestone] and cherty meta-limestones) of Sinemurian-Pliensbachian age.

Fossils

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References