Psilomelane

Help improve this record

No owner is registered for this specimen yet. If it's yours or you know more about it, you can add the owner, provenance, publications and other details.

The P?'bram Mining District covers a wide area and Vran?ice is a village within it, around which several mines operated until 1990. This miniature is a most attractive example of Psilomelane, what is now considered an obsolete name for hard black manganese oxides but is a well-known descriptive term still in use with collectors. Silver grey botryoidal Psilomelane spheres averaging 1 to 2 mm diameter and occasionally a little larger, cover a white and reddish-pink massive Calcite matrix. The Psilomelane tends to have a matt to slightly satin lustre and several mounds are dusted with brassy golden micro-crystallised Pyrite. Also scattered over the surface are rare translucent dull apricot nail head Calcite crystals. A very good example of manganese mineralisation from P?'bram accompanied with the pervious collector's card label.