Rodocrosita

Rodocrosita is a mineral with formula MnCO₃, in the Carbonatos group. This specimen comes from Wutong, Liubao, Wuzhou, Guangxi, China.

Description

A well-formed translucent pink big thumbnail or small miniature-sized rhomobohedron floater of rhodochrosite with some minor nice and natural cracks inside.

History of this specimen

Pedro Jiménez bought it from Dan Weinrich

About Rodocrosita

Rhodochrosite belongs to the calcite group. It is a manganese carbonate, MnCO₃, and crystallizes in the trigonal system. When it forms rhombohedrons, it resembles a pink sparry calcite and exhibits the exact same cleavage. It is currently one of the most sought-after minerals in collection circles, despite having received virtually no attention until barely half a century ago.

About the locality

From the Wutong Mine came the Emperor and Empress of China, two rhodochrosites truly spectacular in both quality and size. Found together in 2010, they traveled to the United States for the world to admire, but after the major Tucson mineral show, only one returned to China. The Empress remained in American hands. Many tried to buy her, but the owners steadfastly refused to sell. That was until a few years later when, thanks to the sheer determination and deep pockets of a Chinese collector, the Empress finally returned to her homeland. Today, the imperial couple resides in China, albeit with a bittersweet twist: they remain separated, each displayed in a different location. Wutong is an old polymetallic mine discovered in 1958. After several promising rhodochrosites surfaced in the early 2000s, the owners formed a Sino-American partnership to actively prospect for them. They succeeded. For a few years, extraordinary specimens were recovered, including the imperial pair, but in 2011, mining operations ground to a near halt, and the lower levels were eventually flooded. Little to no new material has come out since, making fine Wutong rhodochrosites highly sought-after.

Technical data

Catalogue No.: 0703
Composition: MnCO₃
Name: Rodocrosita
Group: Carbonatos
Category: Cupidium
Associations: fluorita
Mine: Wutong
District / Municipality: Liubao
Province: Wuzhou
Region: Guangxi
Country: China
Size (cm): 2.5 x 2.5 x 1.2
Weight: 11 g
Ex-collection: Dan Weinrich > Pedro Jiménez
Etymology: From Greek rhodon (ῥόδον), rose, and chros (χρῶς), color, in reference to its pink color.
Quality: Notable
Value trend: Al alza

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