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Morafeno, Tranomaro Commune, Amboasary District, Anosy (Fort Dauphin) Region, Tuléar (Toliara) Province, Madagascar

Sapphirine
Morafeno, Tranomaro Commune, Amboasary District, Anosy Region, Tuléar Province, Madagascar

Photo: 2001 John H. Betts
Morafeno, Kaominina Tranomaro, Distrikan'i Amboasary, Faritra Anosy, Faritanin'i Toliary, Madagasikara

A body of scapolite-bearing pyroxenite has been worked for phlogopite, and later in the end of 1950s for thorianite. The Morafeno locality is situated about 10 km south of the village Tranomaro in the southeastern part of Madagascar. Around 1960 different names was given to the different parts of the workings at Morafeno (Behier 1960):
1. Andavabe where thorianite was found embedded in phlogopite and an pyroxen as "cakes" parallellgrowing crystals >10 mm. Nice 2-3 cm crystals of spinel has also been found here
2. Beraketa (also name of the small waterway nearby), 700m further north,thorianite has been found as < 1 cm cubes embedded in white or orange calcite.
3. "Puits Moreau". Good crystals of diopside has been found here.

In 1996-1998 specimens with 1 cm large, sharp sapphirine crystals in a calcite-phlogopite-scapolite matix was seen on mineral shows. They were first erronously labelled as coming from Androy. A short notice in Niedermayr (1998) gives the locality as Morafeno. They have also erronously been labelled as coming from the Betroka District.

Mineral List

'Albite-Anorthite Series'
Bornite
Calcite
Chalcocite
Chalcopyrite
Chrysocolla
Diopside
Fluorite
Phlogopite
Sapphirine
'Scapolite'
Spinel
Thorianite
var: Uranothorianite

Thorogummite


14 entries listed. 10 valid minerals.

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References

- Behier, J. (1960): Contribution á la mineralogie de Madagascar. Annales Géologiques de Madagascar XXIX, Tananarive
- Behier, J. (1963): Carte mineralogique de Madagascar. Archive Service Géologique Madagascar. A 1871
- Besairie, H. (1966): Les Gites Minéraux de Madagascar. Annales Géologiques de Madagascar, Tananarive, 34,
- Niedermayr, G. (1998): Für den Sammler. Informationen für den sammler- Ausgabe 1998. Carinthia II. 188[108]: 285-290 [p.290 with a short notice on a find of sapphirine]

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Copyright © Jolyon Ralph and Ida Chau 1993-2012. Site Map. Locality, mineral & photograph data are the copyright of the individuals who submitted them. Further information contact the Site hosted & developed by Jolyon Ralph. Mindat.org is an online information resource dedicated to providing free mineralogical information to all. Mindat relies on the contributions of hundreds of members and supporters. Mindat does not offer minerals for sale. If you would like to add information to improve the quality of our database, then click here to register.
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