La Viesca Mine, Huergo, La Collada mining area, Siero, Asturias, Spaini
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| La Viesca Mine | Mine |
| Huergo | Hamlet |
| La Collada mining area | Area |
| Siero | Municipality |
| Asturias | Autonomous Community |
| Spain | Group of Countries |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
43° 26' 26'' North , 5° 36' 46'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Pola de Siero | 12,615 (2018) | 6.7km |
| Negales | 147 (2018) | 7.0km |
| Sariego | 1,367 (2012) | 7.8km |
| Noreña | 4,647 (2012) | 9.2km |
| Carbayín | 127 (2018) | 10.2km |
Mindat Locality ID:
11530
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:11530:5
GUID (UUID V4):
42b405e6-61be-446d-ac98-cae342969645
Name(s) in local language(s):
Mina La Viesca, Huergo, Zona minera de La Collada, Siero, Asturias, España
The La Viesca Mine, which is currently owned by Preparación Minera del Norte — Preminor S.L., is located near the town of Huergo, at km 13 of the As-248 road, in a hamlet known by the villagers by the same name (43º 26' 27,77" N; 5º 36' 46,58" W).
The first company which obtained rights to work this concession was Felgueroso Hermanos, who were Asturian entrepreneurs closely related to coal mining. Although this mining concession was originally made for coal, it was always mined for Fluorspar, firstly by Fluoruros S.A. and then by the current owner, Preminor S.L.
In 2004, after a long period of inactivity, the mine workings started again by Preminor, through an inclined ramp that now measures about 5 km.
The main crystalline shapes from this locality are cubic, however rhombododecahedron faces can be found as well, but with more limited development than in La Collada. Specimens with icositetrahedron and tetrahexahedron habit have been seen on rare occasions. What is common is the appearance on the faces of the cube of intergrowths that cause rather complex mosaic surfaces, producing a loss of brilliance of the crystals due to the optical effect of the reflections.
The most frequent paragenesis is a combination of fluorite with calcite, quartz, dolomite and various sulfides (sphalerite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena, etc.). In the finds made here, the fluorite features colours varying from absolute transparency to nearly black through all shades of blue and violet. The crystals can reach 30 cm across.
The associated calcite crystals, usually scalenohedrons, can also be large. The calcite in this mine sometimes adopts very complex forms in combination with the rhombohedron providing pseudo-spherical crystals.
In May 2010 a pocket of world-class fluorites was discovered. The pocket was baptised "Geoda de Las Monjas" and produced about 400 specimens, the largest one measured 70 x 70 cm and weighed 135 kg, and the smallest one 4 x 4 cm with a weight of 10 g.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded from this region.Mineral List
Mineral list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities9 valid minerals.
Detailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Calcite Formula: CaCO3 |
| ⓘ Chalcopyrite Formula: CuFeS2 References: |
| ⓘ Dolomite Formula: CaMg(CO3)2 |
| ⓘ Fluorite Formula: CaF2 Localities: Description: Large violet crystals, with the cube as the dominant figure and modifications of rhombododecahedron. Associated with quartz, which sometimes forms epimorphs of calcite crystals. References: |
| ⓘ Galena Formula: PbS |
| ⓘ Hematite Formula: Fe2O3 |
| ⓘ Pyrite Formula: FeS2 |
| ✪ Quartz Formula: SiO2 Description: Large epimorphs after calcite crystals References: |
| ⓘ Sphalerite Formula: ZnS |
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Sphalerite | 2.CB.05a | ZnS |
| ⓘ | Chalcopyrite | 2.CB.10a | CuFeS2 |
| ⓘ | Galena | 2.CD.10 | PbS |
| ⓘ | Pyrite | 2.EB.05a | FeS2 |
| Group 3 - Halides | |||
| ⓘ | Fluorite | 3.AB.25 | CaF2 |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Hematite | 4.CB.05 | Fe2O3 |
| ⓘ | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| ⓘ | Calcite | 5.AB.05 | CaCO3 |
| ⓘ | Dolomite | 5.AB.10 | CaMg(CO3)2 |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| C | Carbon | |
|---|---|---|
| C | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| C | ⓘ Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | ⓘ Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| O | ⓘ Hematite | Fe2O3 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| F | Fluorine | |
| F | ⓘ Fluorite | CaF2 |
| Mg | Magnesium | |
| Mg | ⓘ Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| S | ⓘ Galena | PbS |
| S | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| S | ⓘ Sphalerite | ZnS |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| Ca | ⓘ Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| Ca | ⓘ Fluorite | CaF2 |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| Fe | ⓘ Hematite | Fe2O3 |
| Fe | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| Cu | Copper | |
| Cu | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| Zn | Zinc | |
| Zn | ⓘ Sphalerite | ZnS |
| Pb | Lead | |
| Pb | ⓘ Galena | PbS |
Localities in this Region
- Asturias
- Siero
- La Collada mining area
- Huergo
- La Viesca Mine
- Huergo
- La Collada mining area
- Siero
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
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References
La Viesca Mine, Huergo, La Collada mining area, Siero, Asturias, Spain