Home > Sterling Hill – May 29 > MS0936 Hetaerolite

Hetaerolite - Sold


Hetaerolite is a zinc manganese oxide related to the spinel group; manganese atoms in the structure distort the structure from cubic to tetragonal symmetry. Moore (1877) named the mineral for the Greek word for companion, as the mineral occurs with chalcophanite. Sterling Hill is the type locality (Dunn, 1995). Hetaerolite here forms lustrous black crystals on a fracture surface in franklinite-willemite ore. The crystals reach about 1.5 mm, and occur mostly in tight clusters.

This specimen comes from the Bob Trimingham collection, a collector from Livermore, California. His detailed collection card indicates purchase from the Michael Gorges collection in 2007.