Rhodochrosite

Object/Artifact

-

Crater Rock Museum

Rhodochrosite

Rhodochrosite

Name/Title

Rhodochrosite

Entry/Object ID

2014.1.53

Description

Chemical Composition: Al(OH)3 Crystal System: Hexagonal System Description: Common Name: Rhodochrosite Chemistry: MnCO3 Group: Carbonates Location: Sweet Home Mine, Alma, Colorado Description: Small specimen with very irregular surface covered in pinkish crystals. Physical Charateristics: •Color is red to pink, sometimes almost white, yellow and brown. • Luster is vitreous to resinous. • Transparency: Crystals are transparent to translucent. • Crystal System is trigonal; bar 3 2/m. • Crystal Habits include the rhombohedrons and scalahedrons with rounded or curved faces that can obscure the crystal shape. Some crystals can be flattened to a bladed habit and these are sometimes aggregated into rosettes or minute crystals into spherules. Also botryoidal, globular, stalactitic, layered, nodular, vein-filling and granular. Twinning is somewhat common forming penetration twins and contact twins similar to calcite's twins. • Cleavage is perfect in three directions forming rhombohedrons. • Fracture is uneven. • Hardness is 3.5 - 4. • Specific Gravity is approximately 3.5 (above average) • Streak is white. • Other Characteristics: Pink and white banding in massive forms, non-fluorescence and specimens effervesce easily with dilute acids. • Associated Minerals include calcite, ankerite, alabandite, rhodonite, bementite, spessartine, fluorite, manganite, quartz and many metal sulfides. • Notable Occurrences are numerous and include the famous Sweet Home Mine, Alma, Park County and American Tunnel, Silverton, Colorado; Butte, Montana; the mines of Franklin, New Jersey; Humboldt Mine, Cochise County, Arizona and many sites in California, USA. Also found in Catamarca, Argentine; Huaron Mine and several mines in Ancash Department, Peru; Kara oba, Kazakhatan; Sacrimb, Transylvania, Romania; Cornwall, England; Harz Mountains, Germany; Tsumeb, Otavi, Namibia; Santa Eulalia and Magdalena, Mexico; N'Chwanging Mine, Hotazel, South Africa; Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, Canada and many other localities from around the world. • Best Field Indicators are color, crystal habit, reaction to acid, non-fluorescence and perfect cleavage. - See more at: http://www.galleries.com/Rhodochrosite#sthash.LzVsM8u8.dpuf Hardness: 7 Quartz Rock Type: Sedimentary

Collection

RAGM Mineral Collection

Acquisition

Accession

2014.1

Source or Donor

Crater Rock Museum (unknown donors)

Acquisition Method

Gift

Dimensions

Height

3 in

Width

1-1/8 in

Length

2 in

Location

Location

Display Case

FS-11

Room

Frieda Smith Hall

Building

Crater Rock Museum

Category

Permanent

Moved By

Ian Cunningham

Date

December 27, 2023