Minerals at Parsettens

Yellow, bipyramidal anatase together with quartz. The anatase measures 0.2 mm in width.

Albite NaAISi3O8
Albite, a member of the feldspar group, is one of the most common minerals. It occurs as colourless crystals ; size from 0.2 -5 mm length. Normal shape, often twins.

Anatase TiO2
Anatase occurs as a rare accessory mineral. The colour is yellow to fair brown, size up to 0.3 mm.

Aragonite CaCO3
Aragonite is also a common mineral at Parsettens . It occurs as white to colourless crystals, the size of the aggregates is up to 16 mm across.

Ardennite
Mn4(AI,Mg)6(V,As)O4(SiO4)2(Si3O10)(OH)6
Ardennite occurs as aggregates of platy, transparent yellow to copper-red crystals, associated with braunite, quartz, barite. tinzenite, manganoan calcite and rhodochrosite. The length of the tabular crystals is about 0.3 mm.

Arsenoflorencite-(Ce) CeAl3[(OH)6|(AsO4)2]
White, trigonal crystals of 0.3 mm in size on radiolarite, Together with quartz, albite, anatase and very seldom with tilasite.


Arseniopleite
NaCaMn2+(Mn2+,Mg)2(AsO4)3
Aggregates of crude brown-red xx of 0.5 mm size.

Barite BaSO4
Barite is a very common mineral at Parsettens. It has been found as white masses of several cm in size or as crystals up to 10 mm.

Birnessite Na4Mn15O27 · 9H2O
Birnessite is a secondary manganoan oxide, it occurs as minute black crystals and grains.

Braunite Mn2+Mn3+SiO12
Braunite is the main ore mineral of the location, it occurs together with radiolarite as tiny crystals up to 0.2 mm.

Calcite CaCO3
Calcite occurs as white to colourless, scalenohedral and rhombohedral crystals often covered with manganese oxides. The crystals are up to 3 mm in length.

Chalcedony SiO2
Chalcedony has been found as white balls and resinous crusts.

Hematite Fe3+2O3
Hematite is of minor importance, it occurs as bad developed plates embedded in massive tinzenite, and its size is up to 2 mm.

Lindbergite Mn[C2O4] • 2H2O
Lindbergite, a manganoan oxalate, occurs as greyish white crystals up to 0.5 mm in length. The mineral is extremely rare.

Malachite Cu2[(OH)2CO3]
Occurs as poor coatings and crusts. Malachite is of minor importance.

Manganberzeliite (NaCa)3(Mn,Mg)2 (AsO4)3
It has been found as crude to well formed garnet like crystals of yellow to orange-yellow or brown-yellow colour. The mineral is very brittle and good crystals are extremely rare.

Manganite Mn3+O(OH)
Tiny pseudo cubic crystals of 0.5 to 1 mm in size.

Manganoan calcite 
Is very common, it occurs as small white veins in braunite ore and only rarely as white to pink crystals of about 0.1 to 0.3 mm size. Manganoan calcite fluoresces intense orange-red under shortwave ultraviolet radiation.

Muscovite KAI2(AISi3)O10(OH,F)2
Occurs as small white to colourless aggregates. Associated minerals include albite, quartz, sursassite and piemontite.

Opal (Hyalite) SiO2 · nH2O
Colourless resinous aggregates on quartz of 0.3 mm in size.

Parsettensite KMn6Al7Si8O20 · 2H2O
Parsettensite is a member of the mica group and relatively common. It occurs mostly as mica-Iike blades together with tinzenite, sursassite, piemontite, rhodonite, manganoan calcite, quartz, albite and barite. The colour is brown to copper-red.
Parsettensite is named after the original locality, Parsettens Alpe. Type locality.

Piemontite Ca2(AIMn3+)3(SiO4)30H
Piemontite is a mineral of the epidote group and occurs as nice wine red needles up to 5 mm length, in cavities together with quartz crystals.

Quartz SiO2
Is very common and occurs as crystals up to 3 cm. Very interesting are inclusions of braunite, haematite, radiolarite, piemontite and tinzenite. Often nice phantoms with inclusions of radiolarite can be observed.

Rancieite (Ca,Mn2+)Mn4+4O9•3H2O
-Takanelith
(Mn2+,Ca)Mn4+4O9•H2O
The secondary manganoan-oxide is present as a mixture of rancieite-takanelite. It is very common and occurs as black, brown to silvery crusts or as acicular sprays and tufts.

Rhodochrosite (Mn,Ca)CO3
This mineral is very rare and occurs as white to pink crystals together with manganoan calcite. Its size is up to 0.2 mm.

Rhodonite Mn5Si3O13
Rhodonite is very common in lenses, crossed by veins of manganoan calcite, parsettensite, tinzenite, quartz and braunite. The surface is due to oxidation black. Crystals are very rare and of salmon red, pink or red brown colour, translucent and seldom transparent.

Sursassite Mn2AI3(Si,O4)(Si2O7)(OH)3
Sursassite is very common and occurs as veins of parallel grown needles or as aggregates of fibbers of 2 to 3 mm length together with calcite. Its colour is copper red. Sursassite is named after the roman name for Oberhalbstein, Sursass. Type locality is Parsettens Alpe.

Tilasite CaMg(AsO4)F
The tilasite of Parsettens is colourless to yellowish, transparent. The size is about 0.5 in length. Tilasite is associated with quartz, anatase and arsenoflorencite-(Ce). The occurrence is exceedingly rare.

Tinzenite (Ca.Mn,Fe)3AI2BSi4O15(OH)
Tinzenite is a variety of axinite, it occurs as yellow to brownish crystals at Falotta and as nice, orange coloured crystals up to 3 mm at Parsettens. The name is from the community Tinzen (today Tinizong). Type locality is Parsettens Alpe.

Todorokite (Mn2+, Ca,Mg)Mn4+3O7 · H2O
Todorokite occurs along cleavages as black to brown-black sprays of several millimetres size.


Ardennite aggregate 0.8 mm across.

Crude arseniopleite aggregate 3 mm across.

White, trigonal arsenoflorencite-(Ce) crystal 0.4 mm in length.

Barite crystal group, 8 mm across, with quartz crystal.

White calcedony balls of 1 mm in diameter on foliated parsettensit crystals.

Poor crusts of malachite, 9 mm across.

Yellow aggregate of Mn-berzeliite 1.3 mm across.

Resinous, glassy hyalite with black inclusions on quartz, 1 mm across.

A spray of piemontite needles. The longest crystal is 0.6 mm in length.

Well developed crystals of tilasite, length 0.4 mm.
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