MANGANITE
Specimen man-1

Dims: 4-1/4" x 2" x 2"

Wt: 11.7 oz

Caland Pit, Atikokan, Ontario, Canada

This heavy specimen reminds me of a druse of black Dolomite on a brown-black matrix. The crystals are small, reaching no more than 3/16 inch square. Their luster is waxy and dull, and they seem to rest upon a base of massive Manganite, with possibly some botryoidal Goethite. I've not seen this mineral before we obtained this piece- from what I've read, it's not very common.

Dims: 2-1/4" x 1-1/8" x 1-1/4"

Wt: 2.31 oz

Caland Pit, Atikokan, Ontario, Canada

For a small specimen, this piece has disproportionately large Manganite crystals; the largest is over 1/2" long and almost 1/2" in diameter! All are clean and show little damage, and tend to lay low, erupting at angles that are close to being parallel to the matrix. All are black colored, with a bright, submetallic luster, and many show bending and curving along their lengths. Each has a very complex basal termination that can look almost rounded in instances. Hugging the small amount of visible matrix is a bed of tiny quartz crystals that add contrast and an extra sparkle to the piece.

Dims: 2-1/8" x 1-3/4" x 1-1/2"

Wt: 2.54 oz

Caland Pit, Atikokan, Ontario, Canada

Though possessing very small Manganite crystals, this Canadian specimen has hundreds of them! As a matter of fact, there is one tiny spot of matrix material that I can see on the piece; it's almost pure Manganite! The crystals form a crust on one part of the specimen that is almost 1/2 " thick, and they seem to average about 1mm in diameter! They have the black color and bright, submetallic luster characteristic of their locality's yield. One will get the most Manganite in this specimen.

Dims: 2.5" x 1.1" x 1.1"(6.4 x 2.8 x 2.8 cm)

Wt: 1.97 oz.(56.0 g) w/ base

Caland Pit, Atikokan, Ontario, Canada

This specimen is made up completely of Manganite, in very large crystals that have an odd shape. They possess the dark gray color and submetallic luster that is standard for this mineral, and are, of course, opaque. They range in size from 0.3 - 0.5"(0.8 - 1.3 cm) and seem to have compact, fibrous tendencies, but I believe that this is due to the fact that their normally flattened terminations are divided into many fine points. Every crystal seems to have grown tangental to the base of massive manganite, so that one of the prism edges is always buried. Thus, if a complete crystal were isolated, it would have a two-sided, leaf-shaped cross-section. It is affixed to a square acrylic base.

Dims: 2.5" x 2.0" x 1.8"(6.4 x 5.1 x 4.6 cm)

Wt: 7.95 oz.(225.4 g)

Caland Pit, Atikokan, Ontario, Canada

Though this specimen is mostly Manganite by weight, only a small part of its surface area is coated with crystals. They appear quite small, but actually make up a crust that is about 0.2 - 0.3"(5 - 8 mm) thick, depending on their lengths. Examination of the edges of this crust shows their radial habit. The crystals are colored black, have a submetallic luster, and are opaque. Part of the Manganite cluster is covered by a cluster of stubby, colorless quartz crystals that have excellent form and luster, and are mostly transparent. Both the quartz and Manganite crystals rest on a bed of more massive Manganite.

Dims: 1.7 x 1.3 x 0.8" (4.3 x 3.3 x 2.0 cm)

Wt: 2.15 oz. (61.1 g)

Caland Pit, Antikoken, Ontario, Canada

A cluster of heavily-intergrown Manganites rests on the manganese oxide base of this thumbnail specimen. The cluster has visible dimensions of 0.6 x 0.6 x 0.2" (1.5 x 1.5 x 0.5 cm) and is made up of several crystals that reach a maximum length of 0.3" (8 mm) and are in good condition- one is visibly damaged. Their monoclinic prismatic form appears nearly pseudo-hexagonal, and all have a gray-black color and a metallic, sub-adamantine luster. They are separated from their oxide base by a thin druse of tiny, colorless and transparent quartz crystals. The piece is hot-glued onto an acrylic base.

Dims:1.5x0.9x0.4" (3.8x2.3x1.0 cm)

Wt: 0.5oz. (15g)

Calland Pit, Atikokan, Ontario, Canada

This specimen consists of a crust of velvety manganite crystals on a massive manganite matrix with a minor amount of quartz. These crystals occur in sheaves, reaching 0.2" (0.5cm) in length. The only damage to this specimen is on the edges, and this is very minor.

Dims: 3.4x2.6x2.8" (8.8x6.7x7.1 cm)

Wt: 20.35 oz. (576 g)

Caland Open Pit Mine, Atikokan, Ontario, Canada

This unusual hand specimen of manganite looks like a geode, although it merely a cavity in the host rock which is lined in manganite crystals. This specimen is nearly all manganite, and the crystals in the protected cavity show a course fibrous appearance. On the outside of the specimen, this fibrous pattern gives portions of the surface a silky luster, very reminiscent of smithsonite. The manganite crystals are black and opaque, yet their luster is very bright, and more reflective than merely "metallic". There is only a small amount of host rock on the specimen, plus some tiny undamaged prismatic quartz crystals inside the cavity.

Dims: 2.17x1.85x1.02" (5.5x4.7x2.6cm)

Wt: 2.25oz (63.6g)

Khorate Mine, Morocco

Thin veins of manganite crystals are exposed on this brown host rock. The crystals are a metallic gray, and are arranged as flat radial clusters of shiny crystals, some of which approach 20mm in length. For the most part, the visible crystals are actually assemblages of even smaller acicular crystals. The over-all optical effect is pleasing.