Sakavalana mine, Ambatovita, Mandrosonoro area, Ambatofinandrahana District, Ampandramaika-Malakialina Pegmatite Field, Amoron'i Mania Region, Fianarantsoa Province, Madagascar

Gem mining in a granitic pegmatite. 4-6 meters wide with a length of 200 meters. Noteworthy as the type locality of pezzottaite. Located in the northern part of the Ampandramaika-malakialaina pegmatite field in the central highland of Madagascar, about 140 km south of Antsirabe. The pegamatite is hosted in marbles belonging to the Vohimena group. Mining started here in the beginning of the 1940s by french colonists, and in nov-dec 2002 a large cavity containing multicolored tourmaline and deep pink crystals was discovered. The deep pink crystals, that was first designed " raspberry " beryl was later showed to be a new mineral species, pezzottaite. (Laurs et al. 2003).

References:
- Warin R., Jacques B. (2003): Le béryl-Cs d'Ambatovita, Madagascar- Morphologie et aspects macroscopiques. Le Régne Minéral, # 52: 36-41

- Laurs, M. B., Simmons, W., Rossmann, G.R., Quinn, E.P., McClure, Shane F.,Peretti, A., Armbuster, T., Hawthorne, F. C., Falster, A. U., Gunther, D., Cooper, M. A. & Grobéty, B. (2003): Pezzottaite from Ambatovita, Madagaascar: A new Gem mineral. Gems & Gemology 39 (4): 284-301

- Brendan L., Simmons W., Pezzotta F., Falster A.: (2004): The role of late-stage hydrothermal cesium remobilization in the formation of pezzottaite at the Sakavalana pegmatite, Madagascar. 32nd International Geological Congress, Florence, Italy. Session 142-Gem materials.

- Hawthorne F. C., Cooper M. A., Simmons W. B., Falster S. U., Laurs B. M., Armbruster T., Rossman G. R., Peretti a., Gunter D., Cooper M. A., Grobéty B. : (2004): Pezzottaite, Cs(Be2Li)Al2Si6O18, a spectacular new beryl-group mineral from the Sakavalana Pegmatite, Fianarantsoa Province, Madagascar. Mineralogical Record, 35: 369-378.

- Pezzotta F., Guastoni A., Forner H., Demartin F., Kristiansen R. (2004) : Exceptional chiavennite associated with pezzottaite from the Sakavalana Pegmatite, Ambatovita, Madagascar. Web site of Mineralogical Society of America. www.minsocam.org/msa/Pegmatites.html

- Pezzotta F. (2005): Pezzottaite. Ad Ambatovita in Madagascar una scoperta tra avventura e scienza. Riv. Mineral. Ital., 30, 2: 88-103.

- Pezzotta F. (2005): La pegmatite di Ambatovita, un giacimento ricco di micro-minerali. Riv. Mineral. Ital., 30, 2: 100-101.

- Pezzotta, F., Guastoni, A., Forner, H., Demartin, F., Kristiansen, R. (2005): Découverte exceptionnelle de chiavennite associée à pezzottaite dans la pegmatite de Sakavalana, Mandrosonoro, Madagascar. Le Règne Minéral, 61, ?

http://www.minsocam.org/MSA/Special/Pig/PIG_articles/Pezzotta_Chiavennite.pdf