Provenite

Wessels Mine (Kalahari manganese field, near Hotazel)

MineActiveDraft data

27.1277° S, 22.8566° E · ± 1 km

Calcite and Rhodochrosite from Northern Cape, South Africa, with photos of specimens from this locality.

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Minerals found here

CalciteRhodochrosite

Calcite at Wessels Mine (Kalahari manganese field, near Hotazel)

Rich-pink manganoan calcite from hydrothermally altered manganese ore.

Rich-pink manganoan calcite with organic-like habit, Wessels Mine.
Rich-pink manganoan calcite with organic-like habit, Wessels Mine.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Formula
CaCO₃
Morphology
Pink aggregates with an organic-like habit; balls and gemmy clusters
Typical size
Photographed pink specimen about 9 cm
Color / luster
Rich pink
Associated minerals
Hematite
Trace elements
Manganese (manganoan calcite), as stated on the photo file page
Availability
Unknown

Sources: SRC-208 SRC-209 SRC-211

About Calcite →

Rhodochrosite at Wessels Mine (Kalahari manganese field, near Hotazel)

A plate of drusy pink rhodochrosite balls mixed with baryte blades and a little manganese ore, Wessels Mine.
A plate of drusy pink rhodochrosite balls mixed with baryte blades and a little manganese ore, Wessels Mine.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Matrix uniformly coated with lustrous millimetre-sized rhodochrosite crystals, Wessels Mine.
Matrix uniformly coated with lustrous millimetre-sized rhodochrosite crystals, Wessels Mine.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
A small pink rhodochrosite cluster on matrix from the Wessels Mine, Kalahari Manganese Field.
A small pink rhodochrosite cluster on matrix from the Wessels Mine, Kalahari Manganese Field.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
A pocket lined with silky rhodochrosite rhombs about 4 mm across, Wessels Mine.
A pocket lined with silky rhodochrosite rhombs about 4 mm across, Wessels Mine.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Formula
MnCO₃
Morphology
Drusy coatings, balls of small crystals, and small rhombs lining pockets
Typical size
Crystals mostly 1-4 mm
Color / luster
Pink to bright pink; sparkly, silky to vitreous
Associated minerals
Barytemanganese oxides
Availability
Scarce

Sources: SRC-868 SRC-869 SRC-870

About Rhodochrosite →

Geology of the locality

Setting
Banded-iron-formation-hosted manganese ore of the Hotazel Formation; faults acted as fluid conduits and hydrothermally upgraded low-grade carbonate-rich ore to high-grade ore, with silica and CO2 redeposited near the faults as secondary braunite and calcite.
Type
Hydrothermal
Host rock
Manganese ore interbedded with banded iron formation
Region
Northern Cape
Country
South Africa

About 13 km northwest of Hotazel. COORDINATES NOT FILLED: no coordinate source could be opened. Coordinates: GPS point given for the Wessels Mine property (Farm Wessels 227) at the South32 Wessels Mine access gate; mine is about 13 km NW of Hotazel per Mining Data Online. Coordinates: GPS point given for the Wessels Mine property (Farm Wessels 227) at the South32 Wessels Mine access gate; mine is about 13 km NW of Hotazel per Mining Data Online. Coordinates: GPS point given for the Wessels Mine property (Farm Wessels 227) at the South32 Wessels Mine access gate; mine is about 13 km NW of Hotazel per Mining Data Online.

Sources: SRC-208 SRC-209 SRC-210 SRC-211 SRC-290

Sources

  1. SRC-208 · Website
    File:Calcite-229858.jpg (Wikimedia Commons file page)Lavinsky, R.M. (photographer) · 2010 · Wikimedia Commons
  2. SRC-209 · Article
    Fault-controlled hydrothermal alteration of Palaeoproterozoic manganese ore in Wessels Mine, Kalahari manganese fieldBeukes, N.J.; Burger, A.M.; Gutzmer, J. · 1995 · South African Journal of Geology 98(4), 430-451
  3. SRC-210 · Database
    Wessels Mine (property page)Mining Data Online · Mining Data Online
  4. SRC-211 · Article
    Mineral paragenesis of the Kalahari manganese field, South AfricaGutzmer, J.; Beukes, N.J. · 1996 · Ore Geology Reviews 11(6), 405-428
  5. SRC-290 · Website
    AIA Fieldnotes South32 Wessel Mine Northern Cape (SAHRIS)
  6. SRC-868 · Website
    File:Rhodochrosite-117497.jpgRobert M. Lavinsky · Wikimedia Commons (dealer label)
  7. SRC-869 · Website
    File:Rhodochrosite-118687.jpgRobert M. Lavinsky · Wikimedia Commons (dealer label)
  8. SRC-870 · Website
    File:Rhodochrosite-143186.jpgRobert M. Lavinsky · Wikimedia Commons (dealer label)

Draft data from the Provenite workbook. Check entries against the cited sources before relying on them. Photos are open-licence images from Wikimedia Commons; the author and licence are given with each photo.