Info: Rhodochrosite is often found in grain or whole agregates. It is opaque, with pink, purple or yellowish colour. Rhodochrosite have glassy to pearl shine, which is often covered in the agregates forms with a black-brown layer of manganese oxide. Good developed crystals are rare but beautiful. Those can be translucent to transparent and create good developed crystals with trigonal structure.
How to recognize: Rhodochrosite can be dissolved only in heated hydrochloric acid.
Found: Typical deposits of rhodochrosite were found in USA, where the mineral is found in whole masses. Crystals of rhodochrosite were found in Colorado, USA, and in South Africa. Known deposits were found in Germany and Austria. In Czech Republic rhodochrosite is found in Chvaletice.
| Crystal structure |
| Trigonal |
| Hardness |
| 3,5 - 4 |
| Colour |
| Pink, orange red |
| Shine |
| From glassy to pearl |
