3" Garnet Cluster with Calcite, Mica & Feldspar - Pakistan

This garnet centered specimen comes from a location in Pakistan, where associations of deep orange/brown garnets, feldspar, golden mica and calcite are typically found. The garnets from this location display a unique pattern, which can be seen along the faces of the crystals when rotated under light.

Calcite, CaCO3, is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate. The other polymorphs are the minerals aragonite and vaterite. Calcite crystals are trigonal-rhombohedral, though actual calcite rhombohedra are rare as natural crystals. However, they show a remarkable variety of habits including acute to obtuse rhombohedra, tabular forms, and prisms. Calcite exhibits several twinning types adding to the variety of observed forms. It may occur as fibrous, granular, lamellar, or compact. Cleavage is usually in three directions parallel to the rhombohedron form.

Muscovite is a phyllosilicate mineral of aluminium and potassium. It has a highly perfect basal cleavage, yielding remarkably thin laminæ that are often highly elastic.

Feldspars are a group of rock-forming tectosilicate minerals. They are the most common minerals on Earth, making up nearly 60% of the crust.

Garnets are nesosilicates with the general formula X3Y2(SiO4)3. Garnets come in many species, including pyrope, almandine (the most common species), spessartine, uvarovite, andradite and grossular, varieties of which are hessonite, cinnamon-stone, and tsavorite. Garnets are found in a wide variety of colors including red, orange, yellow, green, purple, brown, blue, black, pink, and colorless, though reddish shades are the most common.
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DETAILS
SPECIES
Garnet, Calcite, Feldspar & Mica
LOCATION
Raskoh, Kharan, Balochistan, Pakistan
SIZE
3 x 2.3"
CATEGORY
SUB CATEGORY
ITEM
#100427