Minerals from Austria

Austria has a long mining tradition, especially in the Alpine regions, and has produced a good range of mineral specimens, though it’s perhaps better known to micromount and systematic collectors than for large cabinet pieces.

The state of Styria has historically been a centre for iron mining, and Erzberg is still an active open-pit iron mine. This area has produced siderite, pyrite, and quartz, among other species. Some of the quartz from here can be quite sharp and aesthetic, though it’s not always easy to source.

The Tauern region, particularly around the Habachtal Valley, is famous for its emeralds. These are some of the only emeralds found in Europe, though they tend to be smaller and darker than material from Colombia or Zambia. Specimens from this locality can include schist matrix with emerald crystals embedded.

Austria is also well known for scheelite, especially from the Mittersill deposit. Crystals can be sharp and lustrous, sometimes fluorescing under UV light. Other minerals from Alpine clefts include adularia, epidote, titanite, and fluorite, often found in association with quartz and chlorite.

Collectors of older material may find labels marked as “Tyrol” or “Styria” without a country, especially on specimens dating from before the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Some pieces are also labelled in German, Latin, or French depending on period and provenance.

Austria is the type locality for 53 minerals according to Mindat, including some very well known species – anhydrite, lazulite, wulfenite, and zoisite.

Austria