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Spessartine

The Garnet Minerals

From Andrew Alden, About.com

Spessartine garnet from the Tongbei area in Fujian province, China. (more below)
Orange garnet of the pyralspite groupPhoto (c) 2005 Andrew Alden, licensed to About.com

Spessartine is an uncommon garnet, mostly found in granites and pegmatites. It ranges in color from red-brown to yellow-brown. Its orange occurrence is a gemstone known as mandarin garnet.

Spessartine is one of the aluminum garnets, along with almandine and pyrope forming the "pyralspite" group. Its ideal composition is Mn2+3Al2(SiO4)3. Almandine and pyrope have iron (Fe) and magnesium (Mg), respectively, instead of the manganese (Mn).

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