Rhodochrosite

A manganese carbonate in raspberry-red crystals or rose-and-white banded stalactites.

Rhodochrosite specimen — Photo: JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How to identify rhodochrosite

Rose-pink to red, often banded.
Rhomb-shaped crystals and cleavage.
Fizzes in warm acid.
Soft — a knife scratches it.

Often confused with

Rose Quartz
Rose quartz is much harder and never banded.
Compare side by side
Calcite
Pink calcite is paler and lighter in weight.
Compare side by side

Where it's found

Capillitas, Argentina
Sweet Home Mine, Colorado
Kalahari, South Africa
Peru

Uses

Ornamental carving and manganese ore.

Rock tumbling

Can be tumbled with care. Soft; tumble separately.

Did you know?

It is Argentina's national stone and Colorado's state mineral.

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