Bustamite
Wessels Mine, Joe Morolong Local Municipality, John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality, Northern Cape, South Africa
1.11 carats
© Brian Kosnar - Mineral Classics
Bustamite is usually found as massive, transparent pink material. It produces attractive pink cabochons and can be carved into objects d'art.
Pink prismatic crystals up to 1 cm in size have been found at Franklin Furnace, New Jersey, USA. Gem-quality bustamite is also found at Daghazeta, Tanzania. Transparent crystals to several cm come from Broken Hill, Australia, translucent material from Kalahari Mn-field, South Africa.
| General Information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chemical Formula |
| |||||||||||||
| Physical Properties of Bustamite | ||||||||||||||
| Mohs Hardness | 5.5 to 6, Gemstones of the world (2001) More from other references | |||||||||||||
| Specific Gravity | 3.32 to 3.43, Gemmological Tables (2004) More from other references | |||||||||||||
| Cleavage Quality | Perfect, Gemmological Tables (2004) More from other references | |||||||||||||
| Fracture | Conchoidal, Gemstones (2009) | |||||||||||||
| Optical Properties of Bustamite | ||||||||||||||
| Refractive Index | 1.662 to 1.707, Gemmological Tables (2004) More from other references | |||||||||||||
| Optical Character | Biaxial/-, Gemmological Tables (2004) More from other references | |||||||||||||
| Birefringence | 0.014 to 0.015, Gemmological Tables (2004) More from other references | |||||||||||||
| Dispersion | Strong, Gemstones (2009) | |||||||||||||
| Colour | ||||||||||||||
| Colour (General) | Reddish, reddish-violet, pink, yellow, Gemmological Tables (2004) More from other references | |||||||||||||
| Transparency | Transparent,Translucent,Opaque, Gemmological Tables (2004) More from other references | |||||||||||||
| Lustre | Vitreous, Gemstones (2009) | |||||||||||||
| Fluorescence & other light emissions | ||||||||||||||
| Fluorescence (Long-Wave UV) | Bright pink material fluoresces moderate to dull red., Gemstones (2009) | |||||||||||||
| Phosphorescence | Orange, Gemstones (2009) | |||||||||||||
| Crystallography of Bustamite | ||||||||||||||
| Crystal System | Triclinic, Gemmological Tables (2004) More from other references | |||||||||||||
| Habit | Massive, Gems, Sixth Edition (2006) More from other references | |||||||||||||
| Geological Environment | ||||||||||||||
| Where found: | Occurs in the zones of metamorphism of manganese-rich sediments., Gemstones (2009) | |||||||||||||
| Further Information | ||||||||||||||
| Mineral information: | Bustamite information at mindat.org | |||||||||||||
| Significant Gem Localities | ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||