PL37 Rhodochrosite

Uchucchacua Mine, Oyon Prov., Lima Dept., Peru

9.7x 6.8x 7.1 cm

$380

A few deep reddish pink crystals of rhodochrosite situated in a vug lined by nicely contrasting manganese oxides.

 Peru produces a lot of Rhodochrosite, but those from Uchucchacua have the deepest red color, and (as far as I know) this is the only locality to produce elongated or scalenohedral crystals.  At the majority of other Peruvian sites where it occurs, it typically forms rhombic crystals or aggregates, nearly always opaque and light in color.  The main exception would be the Pasto Bueno finds from the late 1970’s.

I purchased quite a bit of this material, bit the pieces on this page are my favorites.