Detailed information
Species
Langbeinite
Dimensions
90 x 90 x 30
mm
Weight
44 g
Locality
Vienenburg Potash Works Wiedelah, Goslar, Goslar District Lower Saxony, Germany
Condition
No recorded repairs
Not our usual perfectly crystallized specimen, this evaporite mineral sample is included for its historic importance as a rare survivor from an important German potash mine. Dating to the earliest years of the 20th century, or late 19th century, this original glass tube sealed with cork and wax, contains lumps of chalky white Langbeinite, a potasium magnesium sulphate. The mineral name written around the tube has started to wear away, but the specimen is accompanied by a lovely old handwritten collection label from the Sauer Collection, believed to be Dr. A. Sauer, author of the book Mineralkunde, c. 1910, and who was professor in Stuttgart. From Vienenburg, immediately north of the Harz mountains, the potash works there operated from 1883 to 1930. It comes from the superb systematic collection assembled by the brothers Martin and Michael Günther (1951-2007 & 1956-2021).
