Mineral Mondays #13: Kunzite
Kunzite
Kunzite is the pink/lilac colored version of spodumene. Green spodumene is called hiddenite and the yellow and clear variety is called spodumene.
Spodumene is a pyroxene mineral, silicon-aluminum oxides, which contain many important minerals like lithium, aluminum, iron and more. Of course we are interested in them for their beauty rather than their mineral content so let's move on!
History
The history of kunzite is recent. It was named after Dr. George Kunz who was a self taught mineralogist and gemologist from New York City during the late 1800's & early 1900's. His passion for minerals and collecting them earned him employment with the famous Tiffany & Co. at the turn of the century. He quickly rose in the ranks to become Vice President of the company at the age of 23.
Dr. Kunz with a kunzite specimen. Source - Oceanview Mines, LLC. Original photographer unknown.
In 1902, while at Tiffany's Dr. Kunz identified a lilac colored spodumene specimen that came from Hiriart Mountain in Pala, Ca. In his honor the mineral was named Kunzite and the hunt was on for more.
In 1903, shortly after that initial discovery the Pala Chief mine was opened just over the hill. It quickly generated some of the finest gem quality kunzite in the world. Today the Pala Chief's tailings are still producing treasure for us gem hunters and it's sister mine, the Oceanview Mine, is an active mine whose tailings can also be dug through for a fee.
Me entering one of the Pala Chief mine tunnels the other week.
Locality
The map below shows the Pala Mining District in Pala, Ca. The pin marks Hiriart Mountain where the first kunzite specimen was found. The Oceanview Mine located above it is still a working mine that produces tourmaline, beryl(aquamarine & morganite), kunzite, spodumene and several other gemstones. Just below it in the center you can see some other famous mines. The Stewart Mine is centered and left of the orchard. It produced many beautiful gem tourmalines, morganites, and kunzites as well. The whole mountain is called the "Tourmaline Queen Mountain" aptly named for the tourmalines it's mines produced.
Then, just below we have the other "gem" Pala casino! Just incase you feel even luckier after digging for gems! We did two weekends ago and stayed there after digging at the Oceanview Mine. You can see my review of their buffet here. Unfortunately we were only lucky at the mine.
While Dr. Kunz officially identified kunzite as a member of the spodumene family in 1902, it is also found in Afghanistan, Brazil, Pakistan, Madagascar and Mozambique. It's possible it was used in other cultures before 1902, but not officially identified as being in the spodumene family.
The Gem
Kunzite is found in "pegmatites", holowcrystalline, intrusive igneous rocks composed of crystals over 2.5cm, usually along with other pegmatite gems like tourmaline, beryl, garnet and lepidolite. It's every gem hunter's dream to find a pegmatite.
Kunzite is actually a fragile gem. Despite it's semi-hardness, it cleaves easily and so it is often cut for larger, pendant settings. Additionally the color will fade when exposed to sunlight. Despite this it is still treasured because of it's pink/lilac color and large crystals.
Some Kunzite Facts:
- Kunzite is a member the Spodumene family and a pyroxene mineral.
- Shape - flattened and elongated with striations on the surface.
- Composition - LiAlSi2O6
- Hardness - 6.5 - 7 (semi-hard - diamond is 10)
- Refractive index (fire) - 1.66 - 1.68 (diamond is 2.417 - 2.419)
- Color - Pink to lilac
- Afghanistan, Brazil, Pakistan, Madagascar, Mozambique and The US.
Further Exploring
Here are some useful links for leaning more about kunzite and the Pala mining district:
Pala Chief Mine - Along with the Oceanview mine, you can dig for gems there for a fee. Maybe you'll see me there!
Pala International - Headed by Bill Larson, legendary miner and collector
And two videos from the GIA showing you mining for kunzite at the Pala Chief & Oceanview Mines.
Thanks for reading! Next Mineral Mondays #14: Morganite - Pink/Peach Beryl
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Oh! That one is quite lovely! 💟
Man, that is so cool! The second piece you show there has a real nice pink color. You are making me want to get more into this stuff, it looks like so much fun to dig for gem stones. And finding nice pieces like that I bet it can actually be profitable, just a quick internet search for Kunzite shows gems selling for hundreds of dollars! It just seems like there is a lot to learn in order to know what your doing. Lots of technical names and terms to remember. But I'm super interested. If we go to Panamint City I can show you a place where I was finding quartz crystals in the top inch of dirt near and old mine. None of them were huge but they were still pretty nice. I thought maybe next time I went there I'd take a shovel with me so I could dig deeper and maybe find some bigger ones.
And kunzite is less valuable than beryl and tourmaline! I started out farting around with gold. While there is still lots of gold out there, there's a lot more of other valuable gems and minerals as well. Quartz crystals are a good indicator of other valuable minerals. Anywhere quartz can grow big enough to form individual crystals is also an area that other minerals can grow and do the same.
I'll have to do a search of the Panamint area for minerals found there other than silver and gold. Usually copper travels with those two so that could also mean malachite or azurite. The key thing is knowing what to look for, veins, quartz outcroppings, pegmatites, etc.
A lot of the same techniques apply to gem collecting, the more material you move the better your chances. Forget the tiny stuff because it's too difficult to get rid of and/or use.
We should go collecting beryl and amazonite near Lone Pine some day. Involves some minor mountain/rock climbing, but so worth it when you find something. Haystack mountain if you of know it.
I have heard about Tourmaline being really valuable. I know a few of the prospectors in my GPAA chapter like to look for Tourmaline. The quartz crystals I was finding by Panamint city were around an inch long. One was double tipped, I thought that was pretty cool. I know that they were finding lots of azurite up there too. And I'd definitely be down for a gem hunting trip up to Lone Pine!
good pictures
informative post
thank you for sharing
Daily Learn some new from your post. Love to read it.