Rhodochrosite on Ferberite with Pyrite and Fluorite - image 1

Rhodochrosite on Ferberite with Pyrite and Fluorite

$3,500.00

$40.00 shipping
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Tucson, Arizona, USA

7,543 for sale·132 sold

For those of you obsessed with Rhodochrosite you are probably aware of the highly distinctive non-pink form from the Kara-Oba tungsten deposit in Kazakhstan, but do you have a specimen? This form is an absolute rarity, found during the early 1990s, but by 1996 the mine had closed and these unusual specimens were no more. Tan coloured and forming wonderful rounded rhombic crystals, this form of Rhodochrosite has been speculated to be perhaps iron-rich, but I have not seen any formal data on this. That it comes from Kara-Oba there is no doubt - it has glossy black bladed Ferberite (an ore or tungsten) as matrix - and upon the sumptuous twinned Rhodochrosite crystals are small Fluorite and Pyrite microcrystals. As a miniature specimen it is beautifully balanced, and these tan Rhodochrosites from Kara-Oba are just never seen now, especially in such perfect condition and with crystals to 3 cm on edge.