Xonotlite

specimen number:
2354212

location:
Wessels Mine, Northern Cape, South Africa

description:
Excellent example for the species, white silky radiating crystallized groupings of xonotlite measuring to 2.0 cm in diameter across the top of matrix. In good condition.

Located in the Kalahari Manganese Field of the Northern Cape in South Africa, the Wessels Mine is celebrated for its complex geological setting formed within Paleoproterozoic sedimentary sequences that experienced extensive hydrothermal alteration and low-grade metamorphism. Discovered and developed as a major underground commercial mining operation, it is primarily renowned for yielding immense quantities of high-grade manganese ores alongside an extraordinarily diverse suite of rare secondary and hydrothermal silicate minerals. Among these, the mine has produced world-class specimens of xonotlite, a calcium silicate mineral that typically forms delicate, fibrous, or radiating acicular crystal aggregates in cavities and veins, making it highly prized by mineral collectors and museums globally.

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