Detailed information
Dimensions
38 x 70 x 23
mm
Weight
78 g
Locality
Emma Mine Butte Mining District Silver Bow County, Montana, USA
Condition
No recorded repairs
Although paler pink than some Rhodochrosite, the older specimens from the long-closed Emma mine in the Butte Mining District, Montana can be really attractive because of the quality of their crystals. That is certainly the case with this smaller cabinet-sized specimen where the soft pink coloured rhombic crystals, to over 1 cm in size, are accentuated by a sparse scattering of small golden Pyrite crystals. Worked firstly as a silver mine it shifted to manganese in the 1930s due to the abundance of Rhodochrosite as a gangue mineral, showing how former waste rock can suddenly be viable as an ore in its own right. The mine closed in 1957 and has been completely obliterated. Almost certainly dating to the 1950s, or earlier, this lovely display specimen is in really great condition and will appeal to collectors of Rhodochrosite as well as those who want to add a little brighter colour to their display.
