This quarrying area is located on both sides of Colonnata valley.

Calagio quarry or Quarry no. 162 (44°4'53"N, 10°8'45") is stuated on the left side, at the northern foot of Monte Zuccone, just to the right of the road leading to Colonnata. This quarry, which was originally operated as a hillside quarry, later has been transformed into an open-pit. Two other quarries, named Calagio Alto (44°4'48"N, 10°8'44"E) and Zucconi (44°4'50"N, 10°8'53"E), are located on the NNW slope of Monte Zuccone at higher elevations.
Olmo quarry or Quarry no. 160 (see coordinates) is an active quarry located on the opposite side of the valley, just in front of Calagio quarry. Although the quarry is still active, it is no longer productive because the mineral specimens were recovered from a layer rich in sulfides located in the upper levels.

The most common mineral found in the vugs is pyrite in association with jordanite, wurtzite, sphalerite, and enargite. Boulangerite has been found as thin acicular crystals, associated with galena, pyrite, and sphalerite; luzonite as rude crystals associated with enargite; jordanite-geocronite as crystals up to 1 cm in size.

Calagio quarry is the type locality of zaccagnaite (Merlino & Orlandi, 2001), where the new mineral has been found in cavities in calcite veins, associated with hydrozincite and fraipontite. It formed as an alteration product of sphalerite by reaction with aluminum-rich hydrothermal fluids. Zaccagnaite occurs as minute transparent to milky, subvitreous, hexagonal crystals, elongated on [001], less than 0.2 mm long and 0.02 to 0.03 mm thick, with perfect (001) cleavage. The crystals are always covered by a thin crust of fraipontite which gives them a very peculiar aspect, resembling that of a hex socket head cap screw (commonly called "Brugola" screw in Italy).

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References