Långban

- a short geological and

mineralogical description
By Andrew G. Christy

Introduction Geological Setting

L ångban is famous among professional

and amateur mineralogists as a prolific
source of mineral species. At the most
recent count, about 270 different minerals
have been found at the Långban mine
Långban is one of a small group of related
localities clustered within about 20 km of
each other near the South-Eastern border of
the Swedish province of Värmland. The ot-
hers include the mines at Nordmark, Jakobs-
complex. 67 of these are ”type species”, first berg, Harstigen, Mangruvan and Sjögruvan.
characterized from their Långban occur- Långban is the largest and most diverse of
rence, and nearly 30 are still known only these deposits, and has also tended to yield
from Långban. New minerals are still being many minerals in larger and better crystals
found both on the dumps and lurking in the than the others, but many minerals occur in
specimens of old collections. Perhaps half a more than one of these mines. Some are
dozen localities worldwide are comparable in found at one of the smaller mines but not
diversity. This article presents a brief intro- Långban (for instance, harstigite at Har-
duction to the geological setting in which the stigen). The features that distinguishes
Långban mines are found, the minerals of Långban-type deposits are:
Långban, and a comparison with other min-
eralogically diverse localities. The primary (i) The presence of separate pods of both
reference is the new book Långban: the mines, iron-rich and manganese-rich oxide ores.
their minerals, geology and explorers (eds. Dan Skarns are derived by reaction between
Holtstam and Jörgen Langhof, Raster Förlag, these and the carbonate and silicate host
Stockholm, 1999) which presents an ex- rocks.
cellent detailed account and a bibliography of (ii) Non-sulphide minerals of heavy metals
567 further references. Much of the hard such as lead, arsenic and antimony. Sul-
data in this article is abstracted from the phides are known but are not important
book, but coloured by my own experience of constituents of the deposits.
Långban rocks and minerals.

Skarn – www.k1q.net/skarn 2000-06-08

 A. G. CHRISTY

(iii) Minerals containing ”pegmatitic elem- to-coarse, red Filipstad granite (1.78 Ga old).
ents” such as tungsten, beryllium, boron The small Hyttsjö-type intrusions are closely
and fluorine. associated with the Långban-type ore de-
posits.
The Långban-type mines form a very Field evidence suggests that the unusual
small subgroup of a much larger mineralized elements such as Be, B, Sn, W at Långban
band called Bergslagen, which extends S.W. - were introduced in pegmatites associated
N.E. across central Sweden. The thousands with the Hyttsjö granite, and that the younger
of mines of the Bergslagen include many Filipstad granite was unimportant in supply-
other iron mines that have been of economic ing these elements (K. Gatedal, pers. comm.).
importance in the past, but which do not The presence of tilasite and svabite in Hytt-
display the exciting Långban mineralogy. The sjö pegmatites implies that much of the As
Bergslagen also has mines in which other may have been supplied by them also, rather
styles of mineralization such as Cu-Au-Pb- than being of sedimentary-exhalative origin.
Bi-S are more important than they are at As a result of the regional and local de-
Långban. formations, the Långban ore bodies now
All the rocks of this region are Protero- occur as a multitude of separate E.-W.
zoic in age, the oldest exposures dating to at trending pods arranged in a complex three-
least 1.9 billion years ago. There is evidence dimensional shape, dipping steeply S.W. and
that a felsic basement existed at the time, but embedded in a dolomitic marble.
it has not been found to date. The lowest The regional metamorphic grade attained
rocks stratigraphically in the Långban region during Svecokarelian deformation remained
are a thick sequence of pale-coloured, acidic rather low in the Långban area (lower amphi-
metavolcanics. The older of these are mas- bolite). The absence of kyanite in the area
sive, fine-grained rocks, the younger ones shows that pressures have never exceeded
show more stratification. about 3.5 kbar, and hence that burial depths
The volcanics are interleaved with and over- of the current surface have been less than 10
lain by shallow marine sediments, mainly km. The granites intruded around the de-
carbonates. The precursors of the ore bodies posits have been instrumental in supplying
were probably laid down as submarine ex- not just additional elements but also heat,
halations towards the end of the volcanic which has allowed the original siliceous vol-
activity. Similar rare-earth profiles suggest canics, carbonates, and metalbearing sedi-
that the Fe-Mn oxides and the host carbon- ments to react further, since some of the
ates share a common origin. Metasomatism Långban dolomites partially decarbonated to
of the rocks by reaction with hot percolating produce periclase (MgO), which requires
seawater probably started at the time of temperatures over 600°C.
deposition.
All of these rocks were strongly de- Minerals at Långban
formed in the Svecokarelian orogeny, 1.86-
1.80 billion years ago. As a result, the Lång- There is much apparently intact, barren
ban deposits are now tightly folded in a N.-S. dolomite and meltavolcanite at Långban. The
trending synclinal structure, slightly over- Fe and Mn oxides are likely to have been
turned to the East. Several large faults and precipitated initially as fine-grained hydroxi-
shear zones cut the area, as do small basic des with other elements incorporated (for
intrusions and three generations of granite instance, Ba and Pb in ”psilomelane” min-
intrusion. The latter are the grey, fine- to erals), but the oldest ”primary” oxides seen
medium-grained Horrsjö granite (> 1.85 Ga today are hematite (Fe2O3) and braunite
old), small intrusions of the red or grey, fine- (Mn7SiO12) in the Fe and Mn pods respect-
grained Hyttsjö granite (1.84 Ga old) and ively. The relatively reduced minerals mag-
later, very extensive intrusions of the medium- netite (Fe3O4) and hausmannite (Mn3O4)

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 L ÅN G BA N - A S HOR T G E OL OG IC AL A ND M IN E R AL OG IC AL D ESC R IP T I ON

crystallized later, tending to form near the and arsenites such as rare grey prismatic
edges of the pods. finnemanite (Pb5(AsO3)3Cl) and emerald
These oxide minerals all formed during green granular magnussonite (Mn5(AsO3)3
the earliest paragenetic stage at Långban: (OH,Cl)). Pyrochroite, Mn(OH)2, quite com-
”period A” in Magnusson’s 1930 four-stage mon in veins, was originally found under-
classification. The next period B is the skarn ground as pale bluish plates and prisms, but
minerals formed by reaction between early these oxidize readily, and modern dump
oxides and country rocks. Reaction with the specimens are more likely to be black. Veins
dolomite has produced carbonate skarns that and lumps of native lead are often associated
are rich in oxide minerals (magnesioferrite, with later oxidation and alteration products
MgFe2O4) whereas reaction with silica from such as bright red litharge (PbO), white
the metavolcanics has produced silicate-rich hydrocerussite, and maybe yellow to green
skarns. The iron-rich skarns contain other complex chlorides and arsenates such as
typical ferromagnesian silicates such as green blixite and sahlinite.
diopside, andradite garnet, forsterite and The commonest arsenates, typical of
tremolite, while the Mn-rich skarns contain Långban in that they are widespread there
tephroite olivine, Mn-rich diopside and rich- but rare or unknown at other localities, are
terite and rhodonite. They are more likely probably berzeliite-manganberzeliite, NaCa
than the iron skarns to contain high concen- (Mg,Mn)2(AsO4)3, a colourless to orange ars-
trations of heavy metals, and hence unusual enate garnet, and hedyphane, Pb3Ca2(AsO4)3
minerals of Pb, As and Sb such as kentrolite Cl, a normally grey, greasy member of the
(PbMn2Si2O9). Where original Fe and Mn apatite family. Both are usually mas-sive.
rich skarns were in close juxtaposition, Allactite, Mn7(AsO4)2(OH)8, forms plat pink-
Fe+Mn minerals (jacobsite, MnFe2O4) and ish brown crystals which can grow quite large
associations (red-brown schefferite pyroxene (several mm) and can show an ”alexandrite
with hematite) can occur. effect”, being redder in incan-descent light
Another very distinctive type of skarn is and greyer in daylight. It is often associated
”sköl”, rich in ”manganophyllite” (mangan- with lead, and the As may be supplied by
oan phlogopite) mica, which may be derived reductive breakdown of hedyphane. Tilasite,
from acidic metavolcanites, metabasites, or CaMgAsO4F, isostructural with titanite, was
both. This is the typical host for Ti-rich easy to find on my 1998 visit as a pink
minerals such as black metallic magneto- granular mineral intergrown with mustard
plumbite, Pb(Fe,Ti)12O19 and red platy pyro- yellow richterite and colourless svabite,
phanite (MnTiO3). Ca5(AsO4)3F, detectable by its bright yellow-
Magnusson’s period C, ”cavity minerals”, orange fluorescence under SWUV. It is
are transitional between the minerals of the worth mentioning that the tilasite-rich rocks
massive skarns and the latest stage, the are also one of the most frequent hosts for
period D ”fissure minerals”. ”Fissures” range Be minerals such as barylite (BaBe2Si2O7) a
in size from microscopic veinlets to a metre white platy mineral which fluoresces blue,
in width. The mineralization is dominated by providing a nice contrast with any svabite
barite and calcite, but it is here that the that is present!
largest variety of Långban minerals are Another rock type in which Be minerals
found, including the various Mn and Pb should be looked for is the fine granular,
arsenates. The bigger fissures are the best steely blue-grey hematite rock with white and
place to find good crystals of minerals, since brown carbonate veins. The white calcite
those in the massive skarns tend to be veins can contain prisms of blue-fluorescent
anhedral or subhedral grains. The fissure swedenborgite (NaSbBe4O 7 ). These rocks
assemblages often indicate very reducing, alk- also host exotica such as the Pb-Be amphi-
aline low-temperature conditions, as shown bole joesmithite (PbCa2 (Mg,Mn,Fe) 5 Be2 Si 6
by minerals such as widespread native lead, O22(OH)2) and the Sb-Be aenigmatite relative

3
 A. G. CHRISTY

welshite (Ca2Mg4FeSbBe2Si4O20). common is extreme amounts of fractionation

Although antimony is less abundant in and refluxing in fissure systems. The Pb-Cu-
the Långban assemblages than arsenic, it Zn dominated ore deposit at Tsumeb,
forms the relatively common red-to-yellow Namibia, for instance, has produced a very
pyrochlore minerals bindheimite-romeite, large number of arsenate and reduced
(Pb,Ca)2Sb2O7 as grains and occasional octa- arsenite secondary minerals, although few of
hedra, the commonest Långban halide, nado- these are the same as the Långban species.
rite, PbSbO2Cl, as yellow plates, and a wide Fractionation of rare elements out of primary
range of Mn-bearing oxide-silicates including sphalerite at Tsumeb has produced chem-
brown platy katoptrite, (Mn,Mg)13(Al,Fe)4Sb2 ically bizarre Ga- and Ge- and Cd-dominant
(SiO4)2O20 and of course the eponymous mi- species such as gallite, germanite and otavite,
neral långbanite, (Mn,Ca)4(Mn,Fe)9Sb(SiO4)2 but the wide range of Mn minerals such as
O16. This steely blue-black mineral is not are found at Långban are missing at Tsumeb
uncommon, but perfect hexagonal prisms itself (although some appear at Kombat
like the one on the cover of the new nearby).
monograph would be a rare find! Conversely, Broken Hill, Australia, which
resembles a less fractionated Tsumeb, evi-
How unique is Långban? dently had more Mn in the precursors of the
ore bodies. Ores of Zn, Cu, Pb and Ag are
The other Långban-type deposits in the intergrown there with carbonates and a suite
Bergslagen show a strong affinity in their of Mn silicates (rhodonite, bustamite, inesite,
mineralogy, but there are differences. The garnet, clinopyroxene) which can have a
Mn-Be silicate harstigite, for instance, is strong resemblance in texture to similar
known only from a tephroite-andradite skarn minerals from Långban or Harstigen.
at Harstigen, and does not occur at Långban. So yes, Långban is unique, but it has both
Further afield, the Franklin-Sterling Hill de- close and more distant relatives. The study of
posits of New Jersey show many minerals any one locality may yield clues as to what to
and associations in common, but a major look for in the others, be it new species or
difference is that zinc is a much more models for the paragenesis.
important component in New Jersey, so the
wide range of Långban Mn-Mg-Fe-Zn
spinels are replaced by the single species Acknowledgements
franklinite, and species such as willemite I would like to thank Fredrik Sundell for encouraging
(Zn2SiO4) are common rather than rare. me to write this article, Kjell Gatedal and all the
More distant similarities can be seen with authors and editors of the Långban monograph for
most of the other highly diverse mineral education and guidance on site, before, and afterwards.
localities. In all cases, the main feature in