ZINCITE
Franklin / Sterling Hill, Sussex County, New Jersey
The mines at Franklin and Sterling Hill, NJ are undoubtedly the best known localities in the world for Zincite, (Zn,Mn²⁺)O.  Several specimens are available here, all with rich, to very rich amounts of dark red massive Zincite in matrix with one or more of the following associated minerals: Tephroite (lustrous, gray), Franklinite (metallic black), Willemite , Calcite (white), Rhodonite (light pink).  Item C. only has individual crystal sections of Zincite.  All specimens are from older collections, and have documented information as to which mine they were collected from.  Item B. has an old German label from the collection of Dr. B. Sturtz in Bonn. Two views of Item B. are given, to illustrate the presence of  numerous Franklinite crystals, up to 1/4”across, on both sides of the specimen.   Item D. also has an old German label, but no collector’s name on the label.  The German word for Zincite is Rotzinkerz.  The following abbreviations are for the associated minerals, in the table below:  T = Tephroite, W = Willemite, C = Calcite, R = Rhodonite,  and F = Franklinite.  Note that on item E. the Zincite is bicolored, both dark red and bright orange.

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EDINGTONITE
Ice River Alkaline Complex, Yoho National Park, near Golden, British Columbia, Canada
Edingtonite is a rare zeolite found at only a few localities, worldwide.  The Edingtonite from the Ice River occurrence is of exceptional quality for the mineral, typically found as sharp, prismatic, colorless to white micro crystal prisms, usually in groups, on matrix.  Calcite is occasionally associated. Items B., C., E., and F. have Calcite associated.  Hemimorphism is very distinctly displayed on double terminated crystals -- items C., D., and F. have double terminated crystals, best appreciated with 10X or greater magnification.  Item F. is an exceptional example, worthy of any collection specializing in rare, display quality minerals.  The best references to the Ice River Edingtonite can be found in the “Mineralogial Record” magazine, Vol. 12, P. 221-226, and Vol. 14, P. 50-51, as well as in “Zeolites of the World”, Rudy Tschernich, P. 142-143 (1992). 

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MANGANVESUVIANITE
N’Chwaning II Mine, Kalahari Manganese Field, Northern Cape Province, South Africa
New mineral!  The specimens described below were collected at one of the two localities within the Kalahari Manganese Field where Manganvesuvianite was first identified from (type locality) – the N’Chwaning II Mine.  The N’Chwaning II Mine has been well known for many years as a source for fine crystallized Rhodochrosite, Hausmannite, Inesite, as well as many other manganese-bearing minerals.  Also see the listing for Poldervaartite on Page 1 of the rare minerals section of our web site (a link is below).  Manganvesuvianite forms translucent to opaque, typically small, dark maroon red to near black individual, prismatic, terminated crystals in groups, usually on a black Hausmannite matrix.  Minor white Barite is sometimes associated.  The pink mineral shown in some of the photos is an unknown – it may be crystalline / massive Rhodochrosite. The best reference for Manganvesuvianite in English is the “Mineralogical Magazine”, Vol. 66, P. 137-150.  Chemical composition is: Ca₁₉Mn(Al,Mn,Fe)₁₉(Mg,Mn)₂Si₁₈O₆₉(OH)₉. 

 Also see Poldervaartite, from the N’Chwaning II Mine.

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MANJIROITE
N’Chwaning II Mine, Kalahari Manganese Field , Northern Cape Province, South Africa
In addition to the new discovery of Maganvesuvianite described above, our contact for minerals from this locality was able to supply us with several examples of Manjiroite.  Chemical composition is: (Na,K)(Mn⁴⁺,Mn²⁺)₈0₁₆^.nH₂O  Manjiroite was found as lustrous, brown-black, cross-fiber veinlets running through a black matrix.  Considering the lack of “pizzazz” Manjiroite specimens generally have from other worldwide occurrences, these are really very nice examples of the mineral.  The quality and diversity of specimens from the Kalahari continues to be amazing!

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KOTTIGITE-PARASYMPLESITE
Mina Ojuela, Mapimi, Durango, Mexico
Kottigite was originally described from Schneeberg, Germany, and was reported to be pale pink to red in color.  The Mexican Kottigite is, in general, intermediate in composition between ideal Kottigite and Parasymplesite, and is most properly labeled as Kottigite-Parasymplesite.  The color ranges from pale blue, to grayish-blue.  In fact, the miners often refer to Kottigite as “blue Legrandite”, as it is sometimes found associated with Legrandite and of course this comparison to Legrandite has been an effort on the part of the miners over the years to get the highest prices for these specimens.  Kottigite-Parasymplesite is decidedly rarer, however, than Legrandite.  The Mexico II special issue of the “Mineralogical Record” magazine, Vol. 34, No. 5, P. 68-69 has a very good description of the occurrence of K-P, and two color photographs.  The crystal size ranges from 1 to 3 mm on all specimens, and the matrix is reddish-brown massive Goethite.  In addition to the numerous sprays of K-P crystals on item C., there are also several outstanding radiating, micro crystal sprays of golden color Legrandite, as well as very pale yellow micro Adamite crystals and a small amount of crystallized Gypsum.  There are also numerous pseudomorphs of earthy Goethite after prismatic, K-P crystal sprays.  Items A., B., and C. are each a visual feast, under the microscope!  Item D. is a collection of more than 15 translucent, pale blue acicular non-terminated crystal sections of K-P up to 15 mm in length, without matrix, in a gelatin capsule, suitable for reference or research collection.  These specimens were mined circa the early 1970’s, and have been in storage for the past 30+ years.

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MI-1132 SPECIMEN SIZE (INCHES) SPECIMEN PRICE A. 1 1 1/2 $ 26.50 B. 1 1 3/8 SOLD C. 2 1/4 1 7/8 1/2 SOLD D. .08 gram of loose, acicular K-P. in a gelatin capsule $ 15.00 / lot

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