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Rhodochrosite (MnCO3) NS2178C.02 |
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| Crystal system | hexagonal. |
| Habit | crystals rhombohedral, rarely prismatic, scalenohedral or tabular; also massive, granular, stalactitic, botryoidal or globular. |
| Cleavage | perfect. |
| Fracture | conchoidal to uneven. |
| Hardness | 3.5-4 |
| Specific Gravity | 3.4-3.6 |
| Color | pale pink to deep red, orange red, yellow/gray, tan or brown. |
| Luster | transparent to translucent with a vitreous to sometimes pearly luster. |
| Streak | none. |
| Distinguishing features | being a carbonate, it reacts with warm HCl acid, which helps to distinguish it from calcite or dolomite; and the red color is typical. |
| Uses | of interest to scientists and collectors. |
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