Rhodonite Beautiful and rosy, the state gem of Massachusetts and Argentina is named after the Greek
RhodoniteBeautiful and rosy, the state gem of Massachusetts and Argentina is named after the Greek for its usual pinkish hue. Very popular amongst mineral collectors, it is available in large sizes and quite easy to obtain. A pyroxene family mineral, this manganese silicate usually occurs in massive form accompanied by black crystals of manganese oxide, though occasional exceptional specimens like this are more transparent, and sometimes faceted for collectors despite its ready two directional cleavage (lines of weakness along which minerals split due to planes of lower atomic bond density in the structure) and softness (6 on Mohs scale).Deep red specimens are very rare, rivalling the best rubies for colour, and command very high prices. It forms in a variety of geological settings, such as when manganese deposits are altered by hydrothermal action, when rocks are baked and steamed by contact metamorphism by an intruding granite, the sort of regional metamorphism that accompanies mountain building and even some sedimentary processes. It has been used as a minor manganese ore.Beautiful specimens are found in Peru, Minas Gerais in Brazil and the Broken Hill mine in Australia, from which this wondrous 3.4 x 3.0 x 2.7 cm Gemmy reddish orange piece on galena (lead sulphide) matrix hails.LozImage credit: Rob Lavinsky/iRocks.comhttp://www.mindat.org/min-3407.htmlhttp://www.minerals.net/mineral/rhodonite.aspxhttp://webmineral.com/data/Rhodonite.shtml#.UpO99uLYO4whttp://www. statesymbolsusa.org/Massachusetts/gem_rhodonite.html -- source link
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