Rhodochrosite

specimen number:
2062586

location:
Capillitas, Andalgala, Catamarca, Argentina

description:
Attractive banded massive pink rhodochrosite, this a cut slab that is lightly polished on one face. Classic material for this locality and species. The specimen comes with a devious label from the collection of Ray DeMark.

The Capillitas mining district in Andalgalá, Catamarca, Argentina, has a long, intermittent history of extraction dating back to pre-Inca and colonial periods, with modern commercial and state-managed operations beginning around 1856 and continuing today under alternating institutional and state-corporate oversight rather than having a single permanent closing date. Geologically, the deposit sits within a high-altitude Miocene volcanic and hydrothermal vein system cutting across older granitic basement rocks, where circulating mineral-rich fluids precipitated various metals alongside secondary manganese-bearing phases. Within this epithermal framework, rhodochrosite formed as a secondary mineral inside fractures and cavities, frequently developing into distinct concentric, banded, and stalactitic formations prized for their vibrant rose-red and pink layers.

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