Dara-i-Pech pegmatite field (Darra-i-Pech; Darra-e-Pech; Pech; Peech; Page), Chapa Dara District, Konar Province (Kunar Province; Konarh Province; Konarha Province; Nuristan), Afghanistan

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Be-Nb-Ta-Li-rich pegmatites, hosted in a variety of lithologies. There are two types of pegmatites found within the ore field: (1) large albitized microcline pegmatites with beryl, and (2) spodumene-albite pegmatites with complex Li-Be mineralization.

Please note that Pech, Peech and Dara-i-Pech (also spelled Darra-i-Pech, Darrah Pech, and sometimes Page) are the same place. "Dara" means "valley", so in English the location name is "Pech Valley". Likewise, specimens labelled as coming from Dara-i-Pech do not necessarily come from this pegmatite field, but may originate from any place in the Pech valley. This area icludes Chapa Dara, Dara-i-Pech, Wata Pur and Asadabad Districts in Konar Province, as well as Wama District in Nuristan Province.

Further note that many Afghanis will still use the name "Nuristan" in a traditional sense, to mean all of northeastern Afghanistan. This traditional meaning of the place name "Nuristan" is not to be confused with the current Nuristan Province, which covers only a portion of "Nuristan" in the traditional sense. Moreover, there also exists a Nuristan District, which covers a minor part of southern Nuristan Province.


The grid reference is centered on the field.

Mineral List

Mineral list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities

Albite var: Cleavelandite Bavenite Beryl var: Aquamarine var: Goshenite var: Morganite Beryllonite 'Biotite'

Chloritoid Columbite-(Fe) Columbite-(Mn) 'Columbite-Tantalite' Elbaite Fluorapatite Fluornatromicrolite Grossular Hydroxylherderite

Lepidolite Microcline Muscovite Pezzottaite Pollucite Quartz 'Scapolite' Schorl Spessartine

Spodumene var: Kunzite Tantalite-(Mn) Topaz 'Tourmaline' 'var: Indicolite' 'var: Rubellite' Viitaniemiite Zircon

38 entries listed. 25 valid minerals.

Localities in this Region

Afghanistan Konar Province (Kunar Province; Konarh Province; Konarha Province; Nuristan) Chapa Dara District Dara-i-Pech pegmatite field (Darra-i-Pech; Darra-e-Pech; Pech; Peech; Page) Ghash Mine Vora Desh

References