Thulite (manganese-bearing Zoisite) (new discovery)

Item Description

One of the interesting and certainly attention-grabbing finds from January of 2019. Here we have an exciting newly mined piece of electric pink Thulite (manganian Zoisite) that was surprisingly found during a tunnel construction at Snillfjord, Norway. It's interesting to note that Thulite (once a valid species - now defined as a manganese-bearing variety of Zoisite) has actually been reported from more localities in Norway than any other country. Even the original type locality for Thulite is located in Norway! Also, I will note that the manganese content of Thulite makes it maganian not manganoan due to the fact that is trivalent and not divalent, like a lot of manganese in many minerals. Here we have a nice miniature specimen with a thick band of bright salmon pink colored Thulite on a bit of greyish Quartz matrix. With strong magnification you can see the Thulite is crystalline - not truly crystallized - but you can't deny that amazing color, which is quite difficult to find in any mineral species. If you collect rarities, beautifully colored minerals or even Norwegian minerals, don't miss out on this one. Few were available, and it's likely that few will be found again since the tunnel construction didn't last long.