Rhodonite

A rose-pink manganese silicate usually laced with black veins of manganese oxide.

Rhodonite specimen — Photo: CarlesMillan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How to identify rhodonite

Pink to raspberry with black veins or patches.
Hardness about 6 — scratches glass slightly.
Does not fizz in acid.

Often confused with

Rhodochrosite
Rhodochrosite is softer, banded and fizzes in warm acid.
Compare side by side
Rose Quartz
Rose quartz is paler and has no black veins.
Compare side by side

Where it's found

Ural Mountains, Russia
Broken Hill, Australia
Sweden
Massachusetts

Uses

Carvings, beads and tumbled stones.

Rock tumbling

Great for tumbling.

Did you know?

It's the state gem of Massachusetts.

Think you could spot it from a blurry close-up?

Play today's Rocksday