Detailed information
Species
Calcite, var. Cobaltoan Calcite
Dimensions
30 x 102 x 45
mm
Weight
151 g
Locality
Mashamba West Mine Kolwezi mining district Lualaba, DR Congo
Condition
No recorded repairs
When it comes to pink Calcite, the Cobaltoan Calcite from the Kolwezi mining district in the Democratic Republic of Congo is widely regarded as the finest known but there are obviously different levels of quality. This cabinet-sized, narrow, crystal-lined vug from the famous Mashamba West mine is at the extreme end of colour intensity. In fact, I cannot recall having seen another Calcite specimen quite so cerise in colour. The crystals, due to the narrow nature of the cavity, are platy or bladed, rather than scalenohedral, and are glassy and translucent. The outer front edge of the cavity shows cleaved faces to the surface of the Calcite, but maintaining the exceptionally rich colour. The outer edges of the Calcite show very little matrix, which with backlighting means that the translucency of this piece really comes into its own, producing a magnificent uniform cerise glow across the whole cavity. Simply beautiful.