Home > Kalahari Manganese Field – March 18 > MS0912 Sugilite crystals!
Sugilite crystals! - Sold
- Wessels mine
- Kalahari Manganese Field
- Northern Cape Province
- South Africa
- 7.9 by 5.3 by 3.2 cm – Small cabinet specimen (under 10 cm)
Sugilite is a lithium sodium potassium iron silicate mineral. The mineral name honors discoverer Professor Ken-ichi Sugi (1901-1948), Japanese petrologist, who discovered the mineral (Murakami et al. 1976). While the original material from Japan is pale yellow to yellow-brown, material at the Wessels mine has an intense magenta color. Dunn et al. (1980) demonstrated a manganese content in South African material, which explains the purple coloration. Single crystals of sugilite are extremely rare and highly prized. Some have been faceted into incredible gemstones. This is a breciated matrix covered in white and off white pectolite with several flat lying sugilite crystals to 1.0 cm. There is a fine gem crystal 6 by 1 mm long also present. This is an outstanding example of the species.
