Piemontite


Piemontite is a sorosilicate mineral in the monoclinic crystal system with the chemical formula Ca23O. It is a member of the epidote group.
Red to reddish-brown or red-black in colour, Piemontite has a red streak and a vitreous lustre.
The type locality is the Prabornaz Mine, in Saint-Marcel, Aosta Valley, Italy.
It occurs metamorphic rocks of the greenschist to amphibolite metamorphic facies and in low-temperature hydrothermal veins in altered volcanic rocks. It also occurs in metasomatized deposits of manganese ore. Associated minerals include: epidote, tremolite, glaucophane, orthoclase, quartz and calcite.