Chrysoberyl

specimen number:
9711775

location:
Novello mine, Masvingo, Zimbabwe

description:
Twinned crystals of chrysoberyl, this the variety known as alexandrite, measuring to 2.0 cm in size on a schist matrix. In great condition. There is a slight color change present as shown at the end of the video.

The Novello Mine near Masvingo, Zimbabwe, operated primarily as an artisanal and small-scale claim rather than a large industrial enterprise, with production peaking during the 1960s and 1970s before becoming inactive by the 21st century. Geologically, the deposit is situated within the Masvingo Greenstone Belt, where it formed through a metamorphic-metasomatic process. This unique environment was created where beryllium-bearing granitic pegmatites and quartz veins intruded into chromium-rich ultramafic serpentinite rocks, generating phlogopite-rich reaction zones that host rare gem-quality chrysoberyl, alexandrite, and beryl.

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