Zoisite with Calcite, Diopside

specimen number:
1604535

location:
Merelani Hills, Manyara, Tanzania

description:

A neat and attractive combination piece for the species and locality, this exhibits a cluster of pink zoisite crystals hosting colorless rhombohedral crystals of calcite and minor green diopside. Complete all around, this is in very good condition. Many would refer to this as tanzanite despite the pink color. I think that these are quite rare.

The Merelani Hills, located in the Manyara Region of northern Tanzania, are globally celebrated as the exclusive commercial source of the rare gemstone tanzanite. Geologically, the area is situated within the Mozambique Belt, a major Pan-African tectonic collision zone where complex Proterozoic metasedimentary rocks, including graphite-bearing gneisses and crystalline limestones, underwent intense metamorphism and structural deformation. Mineralogically, the unique genesis of tanzanite and associated minerals requires a delicate combination of vanadium enrichment, tectonic shearing, and hydrothermal fluid circulation within fault zones. Historically, commercial discovery occurred in 1967, after which artisanal and industrial mining operations quickly expanded, turning the district into a major economic engine and a world-renowned destination for mineralogical research.

Questions about this specimen?
Send an email or call us: 314-341-1811.