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Spessartine With Smoky Quartz Fluorite & Clinochlore

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CLB102590

Spessartine With Smoky Quartz Fluorite & Clinochlore

Description Tabs

Description
Locality: 
Tongbei, Yunxiao County, Zhangzhou Prefecture, Fujian Province, China (Peoples Republic)
Size Range: 
Cabinet (10-18 cm)
Size: 
17 × 10 × 4.2 cm
Description

Incredible big and beautiful specimen of the famous 'mandarin garnet' from Tongbei. More than 50 % of the wonderful spessartine crystals covering both sides of this platy specimen are very lustrous. The dullness of the other crystals is the result of micro-crystals growing on the surfaces. The baryte crystals (a new discovery!?) are very hideden in a tight pocket, but one is appr. 1.5 cm long. Also the fluorit is nearly invisible. The cluster is indeed beautiful, but it has some minor faults: some broken off smoky quartz crystals result in three 'holes' in garnet-layer and a few places at the edges are scratched. The backside isn't too spectacular. But this is still a very nice specimen. I don't know if we will see any new 'mandarine garnets' from China in Europe or America because the Chinese people are starting to get interested and invest in their own minerals.

Mineral Data
What's on the rock

Spessartine

Formula: 
Mn2+3Al2(SiO4)3
Strunz: 
9.AD.25
Crystal System: 
Isometric
Hardness: 
6.5 - 7.5
Streak: 
White
Type Locality: 
Sommer quarry, Wendelberg, Haibach, Aschaffenburg, Spessart, Franconia, Bavaria, Germany

Smoky Quartz

Variety Of: 

Quartz

Formula: 
SiO2
Strunz: 
4.DA.05
Hardness: 
7.0
Formula: 
SiO2
Hardness: 
0.0

Fluorite

Formula: 
CaF2
Strunz: 
3.AB.25
Crystal System: 
Isometric
Hardness: 
4.0
Streak: 
White
Type Locality: 
Jáchymov (St Joachimsthal), Jáchymov District (St Joachimsthal), Krušné Hory Mts (Erzgebirge), Karlovy Vary Region, Bohemia (Böhmen; Boehmen), Czech Republic

Clinochlore

Formula: 
(Mg,Fe2+)5Al(AlSi3O10)(OH)8
Strunz: 
9.EC.55
Crystal System: 
Monoclinic
Hardness: 
2.0 - 2.5
Type Locality: 
Brinton's Quarry, West Chester, Westtown Township, Chester Co., Pennsylvania, USA...

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