Calcita Cobaltocalcita
Calcita is a mineral with formula CaCO₃ + Co, in the Carbonatos group. This specimen comes from Kakanda Deposit, Lubudi, Lualaba, Alto Katanga, República Democrática del Congo (ex-Zaire) and joined the Terrium collection in 2025.
Description
Cavity lined with rhombohedral crystals of violet‑magenta pink, bright with a vitreous lustre, c. 2–3 mm. The crystals fill an open geode in compact grey matrix with ochre crusts along the margins. The vitreous lustre and saturated magenta tone are characteristic of cobaltocalcite from the Kakanda Deposit.
History of this specimen
Provenance mislabelled at source, corrected after a comparative review against documented Kakanda specimens using, for the first time, the ChatGPT Atlas browser barely half an hour after its launch.
About Calcita
Variety of calcite coloured by cobalt, which imparts a pink to fuchsia hue. Kakanda yields some of the most magenta and flat cobaltocalcite specimens of the DRC’s cobalt belt, with small, bright, very uniform crystals on dolomite.
About the locality
Kakanda is part of the Lualaba copper–cobalt belt, a region from which more than 70% of the world’s cobalt originates, often under conditions marked by child labour, structural corruption and environmental degradation. This cobaltocalcite raises questions about the relationship between beauty and structural violence: how to collect without fetishising, and how to look at the mineral without ignoring the human.
Technical data
- Catalogue No.
- 0063
- Composition
- CaCO₃ + Co
- Name
- Calcita
- Variety
- Cobaltocalcita
- Group
- Carbonatos
- Category
- Cavella
- Matrix
- Matriz gris con recubrimientos ocres
- Mine
- Kakanda Deposit
- District / Municipality
- Lubudi
- Province
- Lualaba
- Region
- Alto Katanga
- Country
- República Democrática del Congo (ex-Zaire)
- Size (cm)
- 5.1 x 4.1 x 3.8
- Weight
- 77.5 g
- Acquired
- 2025
- Ex-collection
- Javi R.
- Etymology
- From Latin "calx, calcis" ('lime') and Greek "kobalos" ('cobalt'), referring to the metal that colours the calcite.
- Quality
- Muy buena
- Value trend
- Estable
Related specimens
- Abellaíta — España
- Andersonita — España
- Aragonito (Pantojo) — España
- Aragonito (Azul (Toralina)) — España
- Aragonito — Italia
- Aragonito — España
- Aragonito (Pantojo) — España
- Aragonito (Azul) — Italia