Bischofite [SEP] named after
bromine, boron, calcium, silicon, molybdenum, silver, zinc, iron and copper.
History.
Bischofite is named in honor of German geologist Gustav Bischof (1792–1870). Its discovery (1877) is attributed to Carl-Christian Ochsenius.
At its type locality bischofite it an evaporite formed in an ancient seabed, which was deposited more than 200 million years ago, during the Permian Period.
In 1930–1950, vast bischofite deposits were discovered near the Volga River in Russia. The mineral is mined by
dissolving an underground dry mineral stratum with artesian water. The resulting brine is pumped out.
Deposits.
Bischofite deposits differ by their composition: some of them are salt basins where bischofite is mixed with other minerals such as carnallite, halite, kieserite and anhydrite. These are the so-called bischofite containing rocks which have pink-brown-yellow and orange-red colors. They contain 36–58% of bischofite. Carnallite deposits are known in Staßfurt, Germany – where bischofite was first discovered, and carnallite is one of