Inesite with Datolite

The display surface of this large miniature, almost 7 cm long, is completely encrusted with bright apricot to barley sugar orange acicular crystals of Inesite, a rare hydrous calcium manganese silicate. This beautiful specimen is from the N'Chwaning Mines at Kuruman, within the Kalahari Manganese Field of Northern Cape Province, South Africa, a group of mine famed for their complex and rare mineralogy. Not apparent on the accompanying photographs are micro crystals of pinkish Datolite, but without doubt the Inesite commands centre stage. The term N'Chwaning Mines is used to cover a group of three mines N'Chwaning I 1972), N'Chwaning II (1981) and N'Chwaning III (2006) which work together to produce manganese from one of South Africa's largest deposits. This is a stunning specimen of Inesite.