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La Piastra Quarry, Torano quarrying basin, Carrara, Massa-Carrara Province, Tuscany, Italyi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| La Piastra Quarry | Quarry |
| Torano quarrying basin | Basin |
| Carrara | Commune |
| Massa-Carrara Province | Province |
| Tuscany | Region |
| Italy | Country |
La Piastra Quarry, Torano quarrying basin, Apuan Alps, Tuscany, Italy
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
44° 5' 55'' North , 10° 7' 15'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Other Languages:
Italian:
Cava La Piastra, Bacino estrattivo di Torano, Carrara, Provincia di Massa-Carrara (Provincia di Massa e Carrara), Toscana, Italia
Old inactive marble quarry/quarries. La Piastra I quarry (see coordinates) is located on the left side of the Torano valley, while another quarry, named Pianello Piastra, was operated on the opposite side of the valley. Furthermore, on the left orographic side of the valley there are other old quarries and dumps, situated southward from the former at Piastra locality. Old authors (e.g., Repetti, 1820 and 1833) indicated under the name Piastra or La Piastra the quarries on the right side of the valley between Pianello and Fossa degli Angeli, while in more recent times this toponym is used to indicate the quarries on the opposite side.
According to Orlandi & Criscuolo (2009), the marble cavities from La Piastra area yielded some of the best Carrara specimens of quartz, albite, dolomite, and gypsum.
Pelloux (1919) studied one loose transparent crystal given to him by two amateurs of natural sciences (C. Caselli and U. De Champs), who claimed they had bought it, together with some loose quartz crystals, from a boy at La Piastra quarry. Pelloux identified the crystal as sellaite and also noted the presence of inclusions of sulphur, gypsum, and probably anhydrite as at the type locality (Gébroulaz glacier, Savoie, France). Orlandi et al. (1980) reexamined the original crystal, kept in the Mineralogical museum of the University of Bari. The crystal habit is prismatic; it measures 8x3 mm. Franzini et al. (1987) reported the morphological description of this specimen. According to Orlandi & Criscuolo (2009), the occurrence of sellaite within the Carrara marble cavities should be considered questionable. In fact, there are no evidences that the sample studied by Pelloux (1919) had been actually collected at Carrara. A possible fraud in the provenance of the studied material (Gébroulaz and not Carrara) could not be excluded.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsMineral List
12 valid minerals.
Rock Types Recorded
Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!
Select Rock List Type
Alphabetical List Tree DiagramDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Albite Formula: Na(AlSi3O8) References: |
| ⓘ Anhydrite ? Formula: CaSO4 Description: Small inclusions of probably anhydrite are present in the sellaite crystal studied by Pelloux (1919). References: |
| ⓘ Arsenopyrite ? Formula: FeAsS Description: Only described as a small metallic mass, grey in color, with slight-greenish reflections, opaque in powder (D'Achiardi, 1905). No analytical data available. |
| ⓘ Calcite Formula: CaCO3 |
| ⓘ Dolomite Formula: CaMg(CO3)2 References: |
| ⓘ Fluorite Formula: CaF2 References: |
| ⓘ Gypsum Formula: CaSO4 · 2H2O References: |
| ⓘ Native Sulphur Formula: S8 References: |
| ⓘ Pyrite Formula: FeS2 References: |
| ⓘ Quartz Formula: SiO2 |
| ⓘ Sellaite Formula: MgF2 Description: The loose transparent crystal studied by Pelloux (1919) is without any doubt sellaite. It contains small inclusions of sulphur, gypsum, and probably anhydrite as at the type locality (Gébroulaz glacier, Savoie, France). According to Orlandi & Criscuolo (2009), the occurrence of sellaite within the Carrara marble cavities should be considered questionable. In fact, there are no evidences that the sample studied by Pelloux (1919) had been actually collected at Carrara. A possible fraud in the provenance of the studied material (Gébroulaz and not Carrara) could not be excluded. References: |
| ⓘ Sphalerite Formula: ZnS |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Native Sulphur | 1.CC.05 | S8 |
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
| ⓘ | Sphalerite | 2.CB.05a | ZnS |
| ⓘ | Pyrite | 2.EB.05a | FeS2 |
| ⓘ | Arsenopyrite ? | 2.EB.20 | FeAsS |
| Group 3 - Halides | |||
| ⓘ | Sellaite | 3.AB.15 | MgF2 |
| ⓘ | Fluorite | 3.AB.25 | CaF2 |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| ⓘ | Calcite | 5.AB.05 | CaCO3 |
| ⓘ | Dolomite | 5.AB.10 | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates | |||
| ⓘ | Anhydrite ? | 7.AD.30 | CaSO4 |
| ⓘ | Gypsum | 7.CD.40 | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| Group 9 - Silicates | |||
| ⓘ | Albite | 9.FA.35 | Na(AlSi3O8) |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| C | Carbon | |
| C | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| C | ⓘ Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| O | ⓘ Anhydrite | CaSO4 |
| O | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | ⓘ Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| O | ⓘ Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| F | Fluorine | |
| F | ⓘ Fluorite | CaF2 |
| F | ⓘ Sellaite | MgF2 |
| Na | Sodium | |
| Na | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Mg | Magnesium | |
| Mg | ⓘ Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| Mg | ⓘ Sellaite | MgF2 |
| Al | Aluminium | |
| Al | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Anhydrite | CaSO4 |
| S | ⓘ Arsenopyrite | FeAsS |
| S | ⓘ Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| S | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| S | ⓘ Sphalerite | ZnS |
| S | ⓘ Native Sulphur | S8 |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Anhydrite | CaSO4 |
| Ca | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| Ca | ⓘ Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| Ca | ⓘ Fluorite | CaF2 |
| Ca | ⓘ Gypsum | CaSO4 · 2H2O |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Arsenopyrite | FeAsS |
| Fe | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| Zn | Zinc | |
| Zn | ⓘ Sphalerite | ZnS |
| As | Arsenic | |
| As | ⓘ Arsenopyrite | FeAsS |
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
Eurasian PlateTectonic Plate
- Apennine OrogenAccretionary Complex
EuropeContinent
Italy
- Tuscany
- Apuan AlpsMountain Range
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La Piastra Quarry, Torano quarrying basin, Carrara, Massa-Carrara Province, Tuscany, Italy