Rhodochrosite with Wulfenite

Unknown Owner

Rhodochrosite is generally a rare species in England, but a small number of good specimens had been found over the years (mainly the 1970s and 1980s) at Merehead quarry (also known as Torr Works) as pale pink botryoidal coatings lining cavities within massive black manganese oxides in nodules. In 2006/2007 a one-time identical discovery was made at Durnford quarry to the south of Bristol. This miniature specimen from that find and ex Malcolm Southwood Collection (no. MS 2007.156) in Australia, features pale pink botryoidal Rhodochrosite coating massive black to brown mixed manganese and iron oxides. The manganese oxides form a complex mixture including Hausmannite, Braunite and Manganite but you would be hard pushed to tell them apart visually - I know because in a previous role I studied them in detail using polished sections and XRD analysis. Associated with the Rhodochrosite is a single fragment of a pale cream coloured resinous Wulfenite crystal measuring 4 mm on edge.