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This Specimen has been sold.
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3.3" Polished Garnierite Heart - Madagascar
This is a beautiful pale green, 3.3" wide, polished garnierite heart from Madagascar. It has some minor gap filling.
About Garnierite
Garnierite is a green, nickel-rich silicate mineral best known as an important ore of nickel. Rather than a single defined mineral species, garnierite is a general term used to describe a group of closely related nickel-bearing phyllosilicates—often variations of serpentine, talc, or chlorite—formed through the weathering of ultramafic rocks such as peridotite or dunite.
Its color ranges from pale apple green to deep emerald, with the intensity of the green hue directly related to its nickel content. Garnierite commonly occurs in veins, coatings, or massive aggregates with a soft, waxy to earthy luster, and it often exhibits a banded or mottled appearance.
Named after Jules Garnier, who first identified it in New Caledonia in the 19th century, garnierite is still mined there today, along with deposits in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Madagascar. While primarily valued as a nickel ore, its striking color and smooth texture have also made it a popular lapidary material for decorative stones and carvings.
Garnierite is typically associated with lateritic nickel deposits and forms in the near-surface oxidation zones of nickel-rich ultramafic rocks, making it geologically significant for both mineral collectors and industrial mining.
Garnierite is a green, nickel-rich silicate mineral best known as an important ore of nickel. Rather than a single defined mineral species, garnierite is a general term used to describe a group of closely related nickel-bearing phyllosilicates—often variations of serpentine, talc, or chlorite—formed through the weathering of ultramafic rocks such as peridotite or dunite.
Its color ranges from pale apple green to deep emerald, with the intensity of the green hue directly related to its nickel content. Garnierite commonly occurs in veins, coatings, or massive aggregates with a soft, waxy to earthy luster, and it often exhibits a banded or mottled appearance.
Named after Jules Garnier, who first identified it in New Caledonia in the 19th century, garnierite is still mined there today, along with deposits in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Madagascar. While primarily valued as a nickel ore, its striking color and smooth texture have also made it a popular lapidary material for decorative stones and carvings.
Garnierite is typically associated with lateritic nickel deposits and forms in the near-surface oxidation zones of nickel-rich ultramafic rocks, making it geologically significant for both mineral collectors and industrial mining.
SPECIES
Garnierite
LOCATION
Valozoro Lateritic Nickel Deposit, Ambohimahasoa District, Madagascar
SIZE
3.3" wide
CATEGORY
SUB CATEGORY
ITEM
#277981
