1.3" Red-Orange, Botryoidal Aragonite Formation - Peru

Red-Orange, Botryoidal Aragonite Formation - Peru #97621

This is a beautiful formation of red-orange colored aragonite (aka cave calcite), collected from the Pachacayo Mine in Junín, Peru. The aragonite formed as botryoidal masses, with aggregations of larger, sharp crystals that protrude from some of these masses. When viewing the mineral under UV lighting, this specimen fluoresces a faint, yellow color. Following UV exposure, the aragonite displays phosphorescent properties that remain for only a few seconds.

Aragonite is one of two common calcium carbonate (CaCO3) minerals: the other is calcite, of which aragonite forms as a pseudomorph. Its crystal lattice differs from calcite, resulting in a different crystal shape. It displays a translucent to white color when pure, and when impure can vary between yellow, green, pink, blue and brown. It typically forms in low-temperature hydrothermal veins, in hot springs, and as precipitates from chemicals in sedimentary rock. It can also form under biological processes: aragonite forms naturally in most mollusk shells, and as the calcareous endoskeleton most corals.

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