Magnificent rhodoniteWhile we covered this beautiful pink to red manganese silicate before (seehttp:
Magnificent rhodoniteWhile we covered this beautiful pink to red manganese silicate before (seehttp://tinyurl.com/p2umg7e) we used a cluster of translucent crystals as illustration, mentioning that the very best qualities rivalled rubies in colour and transparency, being very pricey collector’s pieces. Here is such a crystal, a deep red cleavage fragment (where the crystal surface represents a break along a line of weakness with less bonds holding the structure together) from Minas Gerais in Brazil, that never ending fount of gemmy wonders. The specimen measures 5 x 4.4 x 3.1 cm and came from one of half a dozen small pockets found during several years of mining in an abandoned manganese mine. Rhodonite 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.LozImage credit: Joe Budd/Rob Lavinsky/iRocks.com -- source link
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