Colorado State Mineral

In the mountains around Alma, Colorado is a beautiful and sought after crystal mineral called Rhodochrosite. It was officially named as Colorado’s state mineral in 2002 based on a proposal by Platte Canyon High School in Bailey,Colorado. The reason given was the fact that “while the mineral is found worldwide, large red crystals are found only in a few places on earth, and some of the best specimens have been found in the Sweet Home Mine near Alma, Colorado.”

The name Rhodochrosite is derived from a word meaning “rose-colored” in Greek. It’s a spectacular looking crystal and the largest example was found in the Sweet Home Mine near Alma, and is now on display at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. It’s named “The Alma King”. While the mineral is typically found along with other manganese minerals in ore deposits in different parts of the world, this mineral is extremely destructive to the amalgamation processing of silver ore, so in the early silver mining days it was discarded on the mine dumps. It was when collectors started wanting the Rhodochrosite as a stone for jewelry, that another look was taken.

Banded Rhodochrosite is found in Argentina and has concentric bands of light and dark rose colored layers which are prized for carving and ornamental items. It is naturally a rose red color, but when calcium or magnesium or occasionally zinc is part of the crystal structure, it causes the color to become a lighter shade of red and pink. Pink is more common in this mineral than the dark red. Considered a relatively soft stone, it’s difficult to cut, and so may not be available as a faceted stone in jewelry. However, many types of jewelry are available using this stone in combination with silver and many beautiful examples can be found in a range of prices.