Projects / Programmes
Exploration and preservation of Slovenian mineralogical heritage
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 1.06.00 |
Natural sciences and mathematics |
Geology |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| P420 |
Natural sciences and mathematics |
Petrology, mineralogy, geochemistry |
natural heritage, mineralogy
Researchers (9)
Organisations (4)
Abstract
Slovenian mineralogical heritage is known world-wide since the 18th century, when mineralogy became an increasingly important area of natural science. One of the earliest mineral collectors in Slovenia was Baron Sigmund Zois, whose mineralogical collection inspired several generations of mineralogists to explore the natural treasures in the field of mineralogy. Interest in mineralogy went hand in hand with development of ore exploration, which exposed many interesting mineral finds. Throughout its history, Slovenia has become known for several classical localities, such as the Idria mercury mine and the Mežica lead and zinc mine. Many famous crystallographers such as Goldschmidt, studied the crystals of cinnabar from Idria and the wulfenite crystals from Črna. The focus on exploiting the ores during the 20th century resulted in a lack of quality specimens from these classical localities in both institutional and private collections in Slovenia. In the last few years both mines abandoned their mining activities, while the scientific value, together with the historical values of mining in Slovenia, has become more important. Presently the curators of mineralogical collections have put a lot of effort to acquire quality specimens of minerals, which are an important part of our heritage, and as such very attractive for the development of tourism in both regions. In the cooperation with geologists in both mines we prepared a detailed plan of research excavations, hoping to make up for what was lost during the last century. In this way we intend to acquire quality specimens for collections and exchange the new specimens for some Slovenia's classical specimens with mineralogical museums abroad. These specimens will serve as an important type-material for current and future studies of mineralogical associations on these localities. In addition to the two mines we have selected four additional mineral localities that are special in their mineral association and the relatively large quantity of quality specimens that can be acquired at these locations, and therefore deserve a detailed scientific consideration.
