Manganese Oxides (Wad)

specimen number:
1052684

location:
Ober-Rosbach, Rosbach vor der Hohe, Wetteraukreis, Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany

description:
A botryoidal mass manganese oxides, these usually referred to as wad. This one is in very good condition and comes with several antique labels as shown at the end of the video. The labels show an original acquisition date in 1908.

The Ober-Rosbach locality, situated near Rosbach vor der Hoehe in the Wetteraukreis of Hesse, Germany, is a historic and highly specialized mineral locality celebrated by European mineralogists for its unique occurrences of manganese oxide mixtures, traditionally termed wad, alongside well-crystallized iron and manganese minerals. Geologically, this deposit is situated within the Taunus quartzites and associated sedimentary sequences of the Rhenohercynian zone, where localized hydrothermal activity and intense supergene weathering deeply oxidized primary manganese-bearing beds. This process led to the formation of extensive secondary manganese crusts, earthy masses of dark brown to black wad, and highly aesthetic, lustrous crystal aggregates of pyrolusite, manganite, and iron-rich goethite localized within open cavities and fractures. Historically, small-scale quarrying and localized underground exploration for industrial manganese ore occurred intermittently at Ober-Rosbach during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, particularly to supply regional ironworks, before commercial feasibility declined and operations permanently ceased prior to the mid-twentieth century.

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