| Manganaxinite {Ca2Mn2+Al2BO(OH)(Si2O7)2}:
FL Crimson SW Willemite {Zn2SiO4}: FL Green SW Calcite {CaCO3}: FL Red-Orange SW The specimen shown above came from the collection of a Hungarian miner who worked at the Picking Table at Franklin (the actual picking table, not the magazine by that name). The manganaxinite fluoresces a beautiful, deep red in short-wave UV. It is similar to the fluorescence of calcite, but not identical. The easiest way for the beginner to tell the difference is by looking for the brief intense phosphorescence (BIP) or "flash" of calcite when the lamp is pulled away or turned off. Manganaxinite doesn't have this property. Manganaxinite also doesn't bubble when exposed to hydrochloric acid. There aren't any places left where you can field-collect manganaxinite anymore as far as I know, with the possible exception of the Trotter Dump. Last I heard they won't be having any more field trips there. Somebody found a manganaxinite at a Trotter dig a couple years ago, at least that's what other collectors told me. Manganaxinite is one of those minerals that had a habit of occuring only wherever someone would later decide to put pavement. Some very nice minerals share this peculiar habit. Not all manganaxinite is fluorescent. It's nearly impossible to tell in daylight whether a specimen of this mineral will or won't glow in short-wave UV. Sometimes the manganaxinite has a sparkly, crystalline surface. Shown below is a close-up of the above specimen in normal light: 
I don't know offhand what the pink mineral is. It bears a superficial resemblance to rhodochrosite. |
