Almandine in Muscovite

specimen number:
8821977

location:
Spotted Tiger Mine, Harts Range, Northern Territory, Australia

description:
Deep red translucent crystals of almandine to 0.3 cm in size embedded up on a grouping of bright lustrous muscovite crystals.

The Spotted Tiger Mine, located in the Harts Range of the Northern Territory, Australia, is a historic mica-mining site first operated around 1917. Geologically, the deposit sits within complex pegmatite formations enclosed by regional metamorphic rocks, where volatile-rich magmatic processes allowed large crystal books of muscovite--a form of white mica--to develop, alongside smoky quartz and garnet. The mine derived its name from the distinctive staining on much of the mica, which gave the sheets a spotted appearance. Historically, it became the highest-producing mica mine in the region, operated heavily by European immigrant syndicates and later supported by the Australian government during World War II due to the critical strategic demand for electrical insulation materials, before ultimately closing in 1961.

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