Moving mountains for you
Switch currency

Current Live Auctions

Current Live Fixed Price Sales

Rhodochrosite On Dolomite Psm Manganoan Calcite

Views:
Watches:
PFK768316

Rhodochrosite On Dolomite Psm Manganoan Calcite

Classic Locality

Description Tabs

Description
Locality: 
Madem-Lakko Mine, Cassandra Mines, Aristotelis, Chalkidiki, Central Macedonia, Greece
Class: 
Crystal Group/Cluster
Size Range: 
Small miniature (3-4.5 cm)
Size: 
4 × 2.7 × 2.2 cm
Description

This is a very interesting specimen and I will explain why. This locality is known for its encrustation pseudomorphs of rhodochrosite after calcite. We usually see a thin, rhomb-shaped crust of pastel pink rhodochrosite and a hollow interior. In this piece, the pseudomorph did not have time to complete. So we have a thin layer of rhodochrosite on rhombic, pinkish manganoan calcite! However, if you look carefully, you will see a creamy area surrounding the calcite. This is dolomite. What must be happening here is that after the rhodochrosite covered the rhomb, it started changing to dolomite but there was no time to complete this process so we see the pinkish manganocalcite core!

Mineral Data
What's on the rock

Rhodochrosite

Formula: 
MnCO3
Strunz: 
5.AB.05
Crystal System: 
Trigonal
Hardness: 
3.5 - 4.0
Streak: 
White
Type Locality: 
Cavnic Mine (Kapnikbánya), Cavnic (Kapnic; Kapnik), Maramureș Co., Romania

Dolomite

Formula: 
CaMg(CO3)2
Strunz: 
5.AB.10
Crystal System: 
Trigonal - Rhombohedral
Hardness: 
3.5 - 4.0
Streak: 
White

Manganoan Calcite

Variety Of: 

Calcite

Formula: 
CaCO3
Strunz: 
5.AB.05
Hardness: 
3.0
Formula: 
(Ca,Mn)CO3
Hardness: 
0.0

Seller Information

Payment options: offline, paypal_wpp, paypal_wps