Detailed information
Species
Gaudefroyite, Gypsum
Dimensions
34 x 47 x 21
mm
Weight
20 g
Locality
N'Chwaning II Mine, N'Chwaning Mines Kuruman, Kalahari Mn. Field N. Cape Province, South Africa
Condition
No recorded repairs
Gaudefroyite is an extremely unusual calcium manganese borate carbonate oxide hydroxide known from just a handful of places worldwide. Although it was discovered in Morocco during the 1960s it was subsequently found in much richer crystallized specimens in the N'Chwaning mines and Wessels mine in the the Kalahari Manganese Field in South Africa during the 1980s. This very rich miniature specimen comes from the N'Chwaning II mine and is a 'sheet' of colourless to white Gypsum (the variety Selenite) upon which many well-formed glossy black hexagonal prisms of Gaudefroyite sit.