Inesite

specimen number:
2063531

location:
N'Chwaning II Mine, Northern Cape, South Africa

description:
Beautiful deep red needlelike crystals of inesite averaging 0.3 cm in size across most of the top of this matrix. In very good condition. An attractive example for the species. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark and dates to the 1990s.

The N'Chwaning Mines, situated in the Kalahari Manganese Field of the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, comprise an active underground mining complex operated by Assmang. The deposit was discovered in 1940, and operations were established in phases with the commissioning of N'Chwaning 1 in 1972, N'Chwaning 2 in 1981, and N'Chwaning 3 in 2001, remaining fully active today. Geologically, the deposit is hosted within the Palaeoproterozoic Hotazel Formation of the Transvaal Supergroup, consisting of sedimentary banded iron formations interbedded with massive manganese ore layers. The complex structures feature intense faulting and post-depositional hydrothermal alteration, which have localized rare mineral assemblages including exceptional rhodochrosite, manganite, and gem-quality sugilite.

Questions about this specimen?
Send an email or call us: 314-341-1811.