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Inesite

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MGR801629

Inesite

Classic Locality

Description Tabs

Description
Locality: 
Hale Creek Mine, Trinity County, California, United States of America
Class: 
Crystals on Matrix
Size Range: 
Miniature (4.5-7 cm)
Size: 
5.3 × 2.9 × 2 cm
Description

Old US classic - The open cuts were not productive of specimens. Down slope, in the stream bed, the collecting was much better. Some boulders had veins of opaque white calcite running through them and those that had little black "sticks" of Inesite growing into the calcite were what you were looking for. The black "sticks" were actually oxidized Inesite crystals. You would break up the boulders and try and extract chunks of matrix rich in Calcite shot through with Inesite. By using a water/nitric acid solution to etch away the calcite and expose the pink Inesite crystals. A few were barite pseudomorphs after Inesite. Other acids tended to tear up the Inesite and turn it quite white. The particular specimen is a nice sample for the locality. Material is more rare and hard to obtain.

Mineral Data
What's on the rock

Inesite

Formula: 
Ca2(Mn,Fe)7Si10O28(OH)2·5H2O
Strunz: 
9.DL.05
Hardness: 
5.5 - 6.0
Streak: 
White
Type Locality: 
Hilfe Gottes Mine, Oberscheld, Dillenburg, Dillenburg District, Hesse, Germany