Bustamite

This specimen is Bustamite from the Zinc Corporation Mine, Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia, measuring 50 x 33 x 21 mm and weighing 80 g. It is recorded with the David Vince Collection. Bustamite is a manganese calcium silicate, closely related to Rhodonite and Pyroxmangite, and occurs in manganese-rich metamorphic environments. Broken Hill's orebody carries substantial manganese alongside its better-known lead, zinc and silver mineralisation, and the Zinc Corporation Mine is one of the workings within the field that has produced this less commonly collected manganese silicate. At 50 x 33 x 21 mm, the specimen is a compact cabinet piece. Bustamite is prized among Broken Hill specialists precisely because it is less frequently encountered than the field's more famous secondary minerals, giving it a particular interest for a systematic collection of the locality's manganese silicates. The specimen's documented provenance is the David Vince Collection.