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PhotosMacfallite - Manganese Mine, Copper Harbor, Keweenaw Co., Michigan, USA

3rd Sep 2013 01:10 UTCDavid Schuder

Orientite

Manganese Mine, Copper Harbor, Grant Township, Keweenaw County, Michigan, USA

Hello

Not to be the mineral police but this is not MacFallite it is Orienite, look at page 153 in the book, Mineralogy of Michigan by E.W. Heinrich updated by George Robinnson. Russell MacFall was a friend of the family and I knew him and collected with him as a kid , my father help get testing done on MacFallite to get it listed as a new mineral at Purdue University (the testing).I have a few specimens from Russ himself, there maybe some Macfallite the Orienite is setting on but the orange crystals are not MacFallite. I'm also a friend of Dr. George Robinson and have been collecting in the Keweenaw for over 50 years now.

David L. Schuder

9-2-13

3rd Sep 2013 03:44 UTCPaul Brandes 🌟 Manager

Don't ever worry about being the mineral police on Mindat David. If you see an error, please point it out!!

I agree that these appear to be orientite and not macfallite.

3rd Sep 2013 14:30 UTCJeff Weissman Expert

David

Thanks for noticing this, I will change accordingly. Took a quick look at the specimen this morning, came with a handwritten label on which was written "macfallite? or ~~orientite?~~", and since I trusted the source, I didn't think twice and also I am unfamiliar with the material.

3rd Sep 2013 14:36 UTCAllan Blaske

Definately orientite. I collected alot up there in the 1980s, and did a senior research project on the manganese minerals and the occurrence (available online, I think). I found that the macfallite was more common than the orientite at that location. Any orientite I identified looked like the photo. Even collected underground once when the trench was open, but also encountered a bear at close range in the bottom of the trench! That's a whole other story!