Rhodochrosite

This sculptural miniature of rhodochrosite hails from the famed Poudrette Quarry at Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec. The specimen consists of  dark red rhodochrosite with an overgrowth smaller rhombohedral rohodos and accented by numerous minor minerals such as natrolite, aegirine, and even some small blebs of what appears to be sea-foam green fluorite.

Mont Saint-Hilaire, an isolated hill in southern Quebec located approximately 40 km east of Montréal, is renowned globally among mineral collectors and scientists for its extraordinary mineral diversity. Few other localities in Canada—or indeed the world—have produced such a wide array of exotic mineral species. Despite decades of scientific research, the geological processes that led to the formation of Mont Saint-Hilaire over 115 million years ago remain largely enigmatic, adding to the mystique and allure of specimens from this unique locality.