rhodonite

rhodonite

Rhodonite from Pajsberg, Swed.

(credit: Courtesy of the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago; photograph, John H. Gerard)

Silicate mineral that occurs in various manganese ores, often with rhodochrosite. A manganese silicate, MnSiO₃, with small amounts of iron and calcium, it is found in the Ural Mountains, Sweden, Australia, California, New Jersey, and elsewhere. Rhodonite is the primary source of some important manganese oxide deposits, such as the manganese ores of India. Fine-grained rhodonite of clean, pink colour is a desirable gem and ornamental stone.

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rhodonite [′rōd·ən‚īt]

(mineralogy)

MnSiO₃A pink or brown mineral inosilicate crystallizing in the triclinic system and commonly found in cleavable to compact masses or in embedded grains; luster is vitreous, hardness is 5.5-6 on Mohs scale, and specific gravity is 3.4-3.7.