Serendibite

specimen number:
2133368

location:
Ohngaing, Mogok, Myanmar

description:
Quite fine for the species, a loose crystal of serendibite. In great condition.

The Ohngaing tract, situated within the Mogok Township of the Pyin Oo Lwin District in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar, is a historic gemstone locality valued for its production of fine spinel, ruby, and highly unusual skarn minerals. Geologically, the deposit is part of the complex Mogok Metamorphic Belt, where regional Precambrian to Paleozoic carbonate rocks underwent intense high-grade regional metamorphism and metasomatism during the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. This geochemical environment subjected impure dolomitic limestones to extreme temperatures and pressures, recrystallizing them into coarse marbles and calc-silicate skarns packed with accessory minerals, which are mined through localized open-pit operations, deep fissure shafts, and alluvial gravel washing. Small-scale indigenous extraction has occurred at the site for generations, but formalized exploitation and targeted mining for rare crystalline species intensified during the late twentieth century, and the area remains active today under regulated local tribal and state concessions.

Serendibite is an extremely rare calcium magnesium aluminum boron silicate mineral that belongs to the rhonite group. Geologically, it crystallizes in high-temperature metamorphic environments, specifically within carbonate rocks that have undergone intense boron metasomatism at the contact zone with granitic or syenitic intrusive bodies. The mineral typically forms granular aggregates or small, poorly defined tabular crystals that exhibit a deep blue, bluish-green, or nearly opaque black coloration, with strong pleochroism visible under transmitted light. Originally discovered in Sri Lanka in 1902, serendibite was later identified within the skarn assemblages of the Mogok gemstone tract where it is considered rare.

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