Rhodochrosite is a manganese carbonate mineral with chemical composition MnCO3. In its pure form, it is typically a rose-red color, but impure specimens can be shades of pink to pale brown. The streak is white. Its Mohs hardness varies between 3.5 and 4. Its specific gravity is 3.5 to 3.7. It crystallizes in the trigonal system. The cleavage is typical rhombohedral carbonate cleavage in three directions. Crystal twinning often is present.
Rhodochrosite is at the top of the list when you think of Colorado minerals. It is the Colorado state mineral. The most beautiful specimens in the world come from the Sweet Home Mine that is located in Alma, Colorado. Now closed, this mine produced large beautiful specimens for about 10 years in the 1990's. While specimens from the Sweet Home are still available, they are increasingly rare and the price continues to rise. For the collector of minerals, the price is well worth it for the Colorado beauties.
Colorado Rhodochrosite
Colorado "rhodo" is the bright red, crystal clear variety unlike all but one other rhodo location in the world. Interestingly, the other location for this sort of clear rhodochrosite is the Pasto Bueno mining district, located in Peru. Like the Sweet Home Mine this district is at timberline, but is a continent away.
A Description
Rhodochrosite is a manganese carbonate mineral. Its chemical composition is MnCO. In its purest form it is a transparent rose red, but this is fairly rare. It can also be formed in stalactites. This form can be sliced revealing circular layers of rose and pink to milky white. These lighter colors are formed when the manganese is replaced by calcium, manganese or zinc. The depth of color from red to pink depends on the amount of substitution.
Mineral Properties
This mineral is fairly soft and shows up on the Mohs harness scale between 3.5 and 4. It has a white streak.
The crystal formation of rhodochrosite is rhombohedral, meaning it is like a cube, but "squished" to form and equal-sided parallogram or rhombus shape on its sides. It cleaves perfectly along each of the three planes that form the rhombohedral shape. It can be transparent to opaque
Formation
Rhodochrosite is formed in hydrothermal veins in low temperature ore deposits.
Locations
Rhodochrosite can be found in Colorado in the USA, Kuruman, South Africa; Romania, Peru, and Argentina
Uses
Rhodochrosite is prized by mineral collectors. It is also popular in jewelry.
Metaphysical Properties
For the metaphysician This mineral attracts love to the wearer, has a positive effect on eyesight, and helps in letting go of psychological baggage.
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Another pink semi-precious stone that displays absolute beauty and exquisiteness would be Rhodochrosite. It has a color which ranges from a translucent to an opaque pink, which is often in banded patterns that have areas or layers of white, and also comes in transparent pink going to dark red.
Occasionally, it is also referred to as an "Inca rose" due to the Rhodochrosite stalagmite formations that can be found in Peru, in the Inca silver mines that date back to the 13th century. Large deposits of Rhodochrosite can be found in San Luis in Argentina. The semi-precious stone can also be found I the USA and Canada.
In the rare or pure form of Rhodochrosite, it has a color which is typically rose-red; however, impure specimens could also appear in shades of pink going to pale brown. It has a white streak similar to another pink semi-precious stone, Rose Quartz. Its hardness could vary between 3.5 and 4. The cleavage of this semi-precious stone is a typical rhombohedral carbonate cleavage that goes in three directions. Also, crystal twinning is usually present. The manganese is the element that causes the appearance of light to dark stripes.
Rhodochrosite is considered to be a strong loving stone. This stone is believed to help in the integration and successful combination of both an individual's physical and spiritual energies which in turn stimulates love and passion. It is also said to have the ability to open the heart, as well as in easing depression and encouraging a person to have a cheerful and positive outlook.
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