Hematite

specimen number:
2063801

location:
N'Chwaning II Mine, Northern Cape, South Africa

description:
Brilliant mirror bright thick metallic crystals of hematite, the most prominent crystal measuring 3.5 x 3.5 x 1.2 cm in size, coming off matrix. There are two main crystals present, both are in excellent condition. The matrix is primarily massive hematite. From the early 1990s, the specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark.

The N'Chwaning Mines, situated in the Kalahari Manganese Field of the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, comprise an active underground mining complex operated by Assmang. The deposit was discovered in 1940, and operations were established in phases with the commissioning of N'Chwaning 1 in 1972, N'Chwaning 2 in 1981, and N'Chwaning 3 in 2001, remaining fully active today. Geologically, the deposit is hosted within the Palaeoproterozoic Hotazel Formation of the Transvaal Supergroup, consisting of sedimentary banded iron formations interbedded with massive manganese ore layers. The complex structures feature intense faulting and post-depositional hydrothermal alteration, which have localized rare mineral assemblages including exceptional rhodochrosite, manganite, and gem-quality sugilite.

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