Manganocalcite - Zlatograd, Bulgaria | Ref.80

Specimen overview

This manganese-bearing calcite from Zlatograd, Bulgaria, displays a pale pink to pinkish-white colour and abundant crystallisation across the specimen. The crystals are often tabular and closely intergrown, developing in different orientations and forming an aggregate with pronounced relief.

Several areas show crystals arranged in blade-like forms and overlapping groups, while more open sections reveal the structure of the aggregate. The two sides display different arrangements of the crystallisation and provide a good view of the substantial volume of the specimen.

Provenance

This manganocalcite comes from the Zlatograd mining area, in Smolyan Province, southern Bulgaria, within the Rhodope Mountains.

This specimen was collected in 2008.

Composition

The term manganocalcite is used for calcite enriched in manganese. Calcite has the ideal chemical formula CaCO₃; in manganese-bearing calcite, part of the calcium may be replaced by manganese, which can be represented in simplified form as (Ca,Mn)CO₃. This notation represents the substitution principle and does not indicate a fixed manganese proportion without chemical analysis of the specimen.

Dimensions

Stone dimensions: 115 × 100 × 65 mm
Weight: 670 g