Rhodonite crystal specimens

  • Updated
    26/06/26
  • Read time
    2 minutes
Rhodonite D.49966 Click to enlarge image
Rhodonite D.49966 1700 ft (518 m) level Zinc Corporation Mine Broken Hill New South Wales Australia Dimension: 5 cm x 3 cm x 0.7 cm Registered 1996 D.49966 Albert Chapman Collection Image: Stuart Humphreys
© Australian Museum

This outstanding blood-red rhodonite (manganese silicate) crystal group with sharp, parallel bladed crystals is the finest rhodonite crystal group of its kind in the world. Its jagged outline of crystal terminations is reminiscent of the ‘sails’ on the Sydney Opera House roof. At Broken Hill the rhodonite can occur in a red transparent (or gemmy) form, which can occasionally be faceted as a rare collector’s gem.

Specimen details

  • Origin

    1700 ft (518 m) level Zinc Corporation Mine, Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia

  • Size

    5 x 3 x 0.7 cm

  • Date

    Registered 1996

  • Collection number

    D.49966

  • Collection

    Albert Chapman Collection.

How it became part of the AM Mineralogy Collection

It was purchased by Albert Chapman from a miner at Broken Hill about 1965.

Due to its exceptional quality, it has featured in several books and mineral magazine articles and in the ‘Mineral Collections in Australia’ supplement of the Mineralogical Record, published in 2020, where it appeared on the front cover.

Rhodonite smaller specimen

1700 ft level, Zinc Corporation Mine, Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia. 3.5 x 1.8 x 0.9 cm. D.49980. Albert Chapman Collection.

A specimen of crystalised Rhodonite.
Rhodonite, 1700 ft level, Zinc Corporation Mine, Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia. 3.5 x 1.8 x 0.9 cm. D.49980. Albert Chapman Collection. Image: Stuart Humphreys
© Australian Museum