(Miniera Monteponi, Iglesias, Carbonia-Iglesias, Sardegna, Italia)
A lead-zinc mine owned by SAMIN. Produced 4,031 tons of sphalerite and 639 tons of galena (1984).
In this mine (mining complex) has been also discovered in 1901 the Monteponite (Wittich E., Neumann B.-1901- Ein neues cadmium nineral - Zentr Miner. Geol. Paleont. - 549-551.). About this, in a sample of yellow "calamina" (smithsonite) given to them by a thechnic of the metallurgic plant, in 1901 Wittich & Neumann found a mineral constituted by CdO, and they gave it the name of Monteponite. Really the sample came out from the dumps of Genna Rutta or Genn'e Rutta, located 2,5 km at WSW from Monteponi. After this casual founding, Monteponite has been not seen again even if some collectionist claimed its finding in two other localities of this comprensory (Seddas Moddizzis), over yellow smithsonite, or in the dumps of the Congiaus excavations (cavo Biscia e Scavo Usai. Dutring a systematic screening of many samples, monteponite has been found once again at "Level -100" (it means - 100 m below sea level) of Monteponi mine.
Refs.:
- De Michele, V. (1974). Guida mineralogica d'Italia. Istituto Geografico De Agostini, Novara, 2 vol.
- Mining Annual Review (1985): 499.
- Forti, P., Perna, G. (1988): Genesi della Monteponite di Monteponi (CA) - Rivista Min. Italiana, Milano, fasc. 1, pp. 45-49.
-Guastoni, A., & Pezzotta, F. (2007). Fosgenite di Monteponi: Francesco Mauro e la collezione di fosgeniti del Museo di Storia Naturale di Milano. Rivista Mineralogica Italiana, 31 (4), 248-255.
