Olivenita
Olivenita is a mineral with formula Cu₂(AsO₄)(OH), in the Arseniatos group. This specimen comes from Hilarion Mine / Kamariza Mines, Agios Konstantinos, Lavreotiki, Ática, Grecia and joined the Terrium collection in 2025.
Description
Specimen with a lava-like appearance. Green olivenite crystals and green spheroidal aggregates of conichalcite on ferruginous matrix with irregular cavities. Intense green tones with contrasting reddish and ochre zones typical of the locality. Very interesting under the loupe.
About Olivenita
Classic Laurion paragenesis, with simultaneous development of olivenite and conichalcite, common in the ancient Kamariza workings.
About the locality
Lavrion is not just a mine; it was the "cash machine" of Ancient Athens. The silver extracted here paid for the fleet that defeated the Persians at Salamis and financed the construction of the Parthenon. The Hilarion Mine is the heart of the district: an immense oxidation zone (gossan) where the original sulphides altered to these arsenates (olivenite, conichalcite), which the ancient slave miners discarded. Silver was all that mattered. Hence they are found today on the dumps: for them they were waste.
Technical data
- Catalogue No.
- 0282
- Composition
- Cu₂(AsO₄)(OH)
- Name
- Olivenita
- Group
- Arseniatos
- Category
- Cavella
- Matrix
- Ferruginosa
- Associations
- Conicalcita
- Mine
- Hilarion Mine / Kamariza Mines
- District / Municipality
- Agios Konstantinos
- Province
- Lavreotiki
- Region
- Ática
- Country
- Grecia
- Size (cm)
- 8.5 x 5 x 4.2
- Weight
- 157.8 g
- Acquired
- 2025
- Etymology
- Directly descriptive name, alluding to its characteristic olive-green colour. Coined by the Scottish mineralogist Robert Jameson, a proponent of "Neptunism".
- Quality
- Buena
- Value trend
- Estable
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