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Sakavalana mine, Ambatovita, Mandrosonoro area, Ambatofinandrahana District, Amoron'i Mania Region, Fianarantsoa Province, Madagascar

Pezzottaite
Sakavalana mine, Ambatovita, Mandrosonoro area, Ambatofinandrahana District, Amoron'i Mania Region, Fianarantsoa Province, Madagascar

Photo: Chinellato Matteo
Latitude: 20°44'48"S
Longitude: 46°4'30"E
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-Malakialina pegmatite field in the central highland of Madagascar, about 140 km south of Antsirabe.

The pegmatite is hosted in marbles belonging to the Vohimena group. Mining started here in the beginning of the 1940s by french colonists, and in November-December 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).

Mineral List

Albite
var: Cleavelandite

'Albite-Anorthite Series'
Allanite-(Ce)
Analcime
Bavenite
Beryl
var: Aquamarine
var: Morganite
Cassiterite
Chiavennite
Cryptomelane
Danburite
Elbaite
Hambergite
'K Feldspar'
Lepidolite
'Liddicoatite'
'Mica Group'
Microcline
var: Amazonite
Milarite
Monazite-(Ce)
Opal
Pezzottaite (TL)
'Pyrochlore Supergroup'
Quartz
var: Chalcedony
Quartz
var: Citrine

var: Smoky Quartz
Spessartine
Spodumene
var: Hiddenite
var: Kunzite
'Tourmaline'
Zircon


35 entries listed. 20 valid minerals. 1 type locality (valid mineral).

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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. Rivista Mineralogical Italiana. 30 (2): 88-103.

- Pezzotta, F. (2005): La pegmatite di Ambatovita, un giacimento ricco di micro-minerali. Rivista Mineralogical Italiana. 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

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