Pyrolusite: Michigan or Ohio?

This specimen used to belong to David Snair "Master of Glazes"

It was labeled as pyrolusite and I think it was supposedly from Michigan or Ohio. I was wondering if anyone might be able to confirm/expand on the locality information.

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as far as i know there are not known occurences of pyrolusite in ohio.

Matt

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A buena hambre no hay pan duro

Referencing the book "Minerals of Ohio" by Ernest H. Carlson, pages117-118 (1991). Under the heading "Manganese Oxides (Pyrolusite, etc.," several counties are listed:

1. Adams County -- Sheets of unidentified manganese oxide along bedding planes...
2. Coshocton County -- Dendritic coatings of unidentified black manganese oxides...
3. Geauga County -- Deposit of bog manganese in swampy ground...
4. Hamilton County -- Masses of manganese bog ore in glacial deposits...
5. Licking County -- Dendrites of unidentified black manganese oxide...

No specific locations given for Pyrolusite as such. Believe Matt is correct for no Ohio locations.

The matrix doesn't look oxidized enough to be from the Taylor Mine locality, and doesn't look similar to specimens I have seen from there (or have myself). However, it does look similar to some of the material from the Jackson open pit mine. Take a look at some of the photos from that locality.

If it's from either it's from Michigan, no way anything that good ever came from Ohio. If it came from Michigan, it is likely Taylor Mine, as Scott suggests. I don't think it looks quite right though. Why do you think it is from one of these two states rather than somewhere else?

Like Matt and Gerald, I don't know of any localities in Ohio that produce pyrolusite by itself, so it's likely not from there (although "bog" manganese ores commonly contain pyrolusite as one of its components).

In Michigan, there are several localities in the Upper Peninsula that produce pyrolusite; the most notable is the Taylor mine in Baraga County. Scott suggested that the matrix isn't oxidised enough like others from Taylor; however, the A.E. Seamen Mineral Museum in Houghton has a few specimens from Taylor that show no oxidation and are in a quartzite matirx as it appears yours is in, Jenna. A couple of other possibilities are the South Jackson Pit in Marquette County (as Scott suggested) and also the Mikado mine located in Gogebic County, where it was known to form in stalactitic crystals.

At any rate, it's a neat specimen Jenna!! Out of curiousity, what is the size?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/13/2012 08:16PM by Paul Brandes.

I collected at the Taylor mine as an undergrad, matrix would match some of the fresh rock there.
Dave

Chris:

I think it's from Michigan or Ohio because I vaguely recall that written on a piece of masking tape that used to be on the specimen, and most specimens in the collection are from those regions.

Paul:

I forgot to measure them when I had them out of the box and every time I handle them I inadvertently destroy some delicate spray of crystals as there is much of the matrix that's not covered in small crystals to grip, but the one in the photo above is about 9-10cm across. The sister specimen in the last two photos below is maybe 15-15cm across but it's largely matrix.

Here is a photo of the same specimen with a better camera, that captures the actual color of the specimen.
[www.flickr.com]

Here are some photos of a sister specimen that's larger bit has smaller vugs.
[www.flickr.com]
[www.flickr.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/14/2012 02:53AM by Jenna Mast.

Taylor Mine for sure now- with the better color the matrix looks perfect!