Inesite

A small miniature group of burnt rusty-orange Inesite crystals from the N'Chwaning II mine, at Kuruman in the Kalahari Manganese Field of South Africa.  Inesite is a rare hydrous calcium manganese silicate and forms thin bladed crystals to around 1.4 cm long, quite a good size for the species.  The specimen is composed almost entirely of well terminated Inesite crystals which sit on a mainly hidden thin bed of white earthy Prehnite.  Examined under low magnification of about x5, the crystal terminations are seen to be transparent grading toward translucent with a bright glassy lustre.