Epidote

specimen number:
2072318

location:
Rehoboth, Hardap, Namibia

description:
Lustrous green crystals of prismatic epidote to 3.5 cm in length across the top of matrix. Slight damage present, still in good cabinet sized example for the species and locality.

The Rehoboth district, located in the Hardap Region of central Namibia, is situated within the southern margin of the Damara Orogen, a complex geological belt formed during the Pan-African assembly of Gondwana. Geologically, the area features a diverse array of Paleoproterozoic metamorphic rocks, including schists, quartzites, and amphibolites, which have been intruded by granitic bodies and intersected by hydrothermal veins. The locality is well-regarded for producing high-quality specimens of epidote, a calcium aluminum iron silicate mineral, which often occurs as elongated, prismatic crystals with a characteristic deep pistachio-green to brownish-green color. Historically, mining and quarrying in the Rehoboth area have focused on gold and copper, with gold being discovered in the late 1800s and worked intermittently through the mid-20th century. While industrial-scale mining has been sporadic, the region has remained an active site for artisanal mineral specimen recovery due to the abundance of well-crystallized silicates in its metamorphic outcrops.

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