FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Gail]

Yes, same pocket

[Vasco Trancoso]

Rhodochrosite is also my favorite mineral.
My Mindat page: https://www.mindat.org/user-11954.html

I agree with the observation that - in general - the most beautiful crystals of Rhodochrosite are from Sweet Home Mine - Colorado and from N'Chwaning mines, Kalahari manganese field, South Africa. From this last locality I was fortunate to collect the 10 different Rhodochrosite habits described by W. Wilson and P. Dunn (Min Record May-June 1978.).

However there are exceptions from other places (usually not so valued) with world-class specimens.
As is the case of this Rhodochrosite from Gabon - Moanda Mine ( https://www.mindat.org/photo-183281.html ) with a Total Size: 13 x 10 x 5.5 cm. It is an outstanding piece. The color is beautiful and it is very lustrous and sparkly. This specimen attracted quite a lot of attention at the 2008 St Marie show, and I think it is the best Gabon Rhodo that has been viewed for more than 30 years now! This one is now a world class and particularly good, not only for the coverage of crystals, but because the color is so dark, red and rich. Normally they are paler or brown.

Cheers

Vasco Trancoso

[Tobi]

[Michael Shaw]

One of my favorites from Peru.

[Volkmar Stingl]

The most impressive rhodo I've ever seen by myself: the "Empress of China" at the Changsha Show in 2013. Largest crystal: 22 cm!

[Tobi]

[Graham Harrison]

The hobby really only kicked for me when I managed to secure this specimen. It took a year of saving and a stern lecture from my father about buying a thing I was no doubt going to lose. As a 10 year old I was in awe of the specimen - today it resides in the drawer with the others but remains my absolute favorite. Thank you to all the hobbyists that have kept the interest, and a special thanks to the gentleman that kept it for me for a year so that I could save enough to eventually get it.
My Nchwaning 2 Rhodochrosite

[Jamison Brizendine]

Graham that is a very sweet rhodochrosite!

I have been manually digitizing some old Rock & Gem Magazine articles for my local mineral club. Bob Jones in (2007) wrote a brief article about rhodochrosite. The first two paragraphs really surprised me:

“At any mineral show these days, one of the species you’ll see on almost every mineral dealer’s table is rhodochrosite. Yet, when you read the about rhodochrosite in the mineralogy literature, you find comments that disagree with the current abundance of this manganese carbonate mineral.”

“James Dwight Dana’s System of Mineralogy, V. 11, 6th Edition (John Wiley & Sons, 1920) says of the mineral, ‘Distinct crystals not common’ (p. 278)! Henry A. Miers’ text Mineralogy (Macmillan & Co., 1929) says it ‘is not often found well crystallized’ (p. 460). Obviously, something has happened in the last half century to change things considerably.”

“A century ago, rhodochrosite really was an uncommon mineral; it was found only in a few European deposits, mainly mines in the Harz Mountains, and then only as relatively insignificant crystals. That situation changed when America’s Western mineral deposits really began to produce.” (Jones, 2007, p. 20)

I had always assumed that rhodochrosite was a fairly common mineral, considering I see a fair number of specimens at shows, usually lapidary grade or damaged specimens.

References Cited:

Jones, B., 2007, Royal Rhodochrosite: This plentiful species is anything but common: Rock and Gem, v. 37 (7), p. 20-25.

[Tobi]

[Tobi]

Ushkatyn/Kazakhstan may be not among the top rhodochrosite localities like Sweet Home Mine, N'Chwaning or Wolf Mine, nevertheless this specimen immediately became one of my personal favourites:

[David]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned about the type locality for rhodochrosite.

[Tobi]

[Michael Shaw]

David,

You are right. Rhodochrosite from the type locality deserves a place in this thread. As Tobi said, perhaps not as vivid in coloration or as big crystals as some localities have produced, but I still love that nice pastel pink color.

[Tobi]

Really nice, Michael, especially the first one.

I want to add another classic locality that wasn't mentioned before: Oppu mine, Nishimeya-mura, Nakatsugaru District, Aomori Prefecture, Japan.
I love the specimens that came out of that mine, sadly they're nearly impossible to get. Wonderful material, especially when associated with pyrite.

[Gerhard Brandstetter]

Interesting discussion and good specimen too. But i still miss some famous localities. So i add some photos from my collection to show the diversity of this beautiful mineral.