|
The Rock Professor has provided you with a mineral
information card. Print on stock paper, and cut out to
enhance your rock and mineral products.
To print: with your cursor, highlight the entire card below,
right click and select print, then click on "selection"
and print.
|
THE ROCK PROFESSOR
|
|
|
Rhodonite, Nevada
Image attributed to
Chris Ralph,
Nevada Outback Gems
|
|
|
RHODONITE
|
RHODONITE is named after the Greek word for rose, rhodon.Chemically, it is manganese silicate. Its color is usually pink but it can range to dark pink and even to brown. Rhodonite is distinguished from another pink manganese mineral, rhodochrosite, by its greater hardness (5.5 to 6) and by the presence of black streaks of manganese oxide.
Rhodonite typically comes in massive, coarse and fine granular aggregates. Because of its attractive color and black streaks of manganese oxide, rhodonite is often carved into cabochons, beads and carvings.
|
|
|
|
|
Chemistry: MnSiO3 ♦ Chemical group: silicate ♦ Crystal system: triclinic ♦
Transparency: transparent to translucent ♦ Luster: vitreous ♦
Moh's hardness: 5.5-6.5 ♦ Fracture: conchoidal to uneven ♦
Color: light brownish red, flesh red, rose pink ♦
Cleavage: 2 directions are perfect, one direction imperfect ♦
Localities: Worldwide, with notable western hemisphere occurrences in Brazil,
Uruguay, Ontario, Mexico, Maine, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Colorado.
|
|
|
|
