Donpeacorite with Kanoite

specimen number:
2354304

location:
ZCA #4 Mine, Balmat, St. Lawrence Co., New York, USA

description:

Orange brown rich masses of donpeacorite masses of kanoite.

The ZCA No. 4 Mine near Balmat in St. Lawrence County, New York, is situated within the historic Balmat-Edwards zinc district, a globally famous metamorphic complex composed of Precambrian Grenville Supergroup marbles, calc-silicate rocks, and gneisses. Heavy industrial underground mining in the region focused primarily on rich sphalerite ore bodies to extract zinc, but the complex manganese-rich silicate assemblages encountered during deep operations also yielded exceptional suite minerals. The ZCA No. 4 Mine serves as the type locality for donpeacorite, a rare manganese-magnesium pyroxene mineral named in honor of mineralogist Donald R. Peacor. Discovered within highly metamorphosed manganese-bearing rock layers deep within the mine, donpeacorite forms small, yellowish-orange to brownish-orange crystals or massive granular aggregates intimately associated with tirodite, spessartine, manganese-bearing tremolite, and quartz. Because the Balmat mining complex has experienced periods of inactivity and restricted access, genuine specimens of donpeacorite from this precise locality remain highly prized among systematic mineral collectors and research institutions worldwide.

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