page_title: Spherocobaltite
section_title: Discovery and occurrence
hierarchical_section_title: Spherocobaltite / Discovery and occurrence
caption_attribution_description: English: Spherocobaltite Locality: Kolwezi, Western area, Katanga Copper Crescent, Katanga (Shaba), Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaïre) (Locality at mindat.org) Size: 11.5 x 6.0 x 4.5 cm. This is the largest specimen I have ever seen of this rare material often mistaken for the more common species cobaltoan calcite, and it is studded with bright, lustrous, translucent, magenta-colored crystals to .5 cm. I must say that the color is the deepest I have seen for this species, as well. It is vibrant. And, for such a rarity, a real treasure. Deutsch: Sphärocobaltit Fundort: Kolwezi, Western area, Katanga Copper Crescent, Katanga, Demokratische Republik Kongo (Fundort bei mindat.org) Größe: 11.5 x 6.0 x 4.5 cm.
context_page_description: Spherocobaltite or sphaerocobaltite is a cobalt carbonate mineral with chemical composition CoCO₃. In its pure form, it is typically a rose-red color, but impure specimens can be shades of pink to pale brown. It crystallizes in the trigonal crystal system.
context_section_description: Spherocobaltite was first described in 1877 for an occurrence within cobalt and nickel veins in the St. Daniel Mine of the Schneeberg District, Erzgebirge, Saxony, Germany. The name is from the Greek "sphaira", sphere, and cobalt, in reference to its typical crystal habit and composition. It occurs within hydrothermal cobalt-bearing mineral deposits as a rare phase associated with 
  roselite, erythrite, annabergite and cobalt rich calcite and dolomite.
caption: Cluster of spherocobaltite crystals from the Katanga Copper Crescent, Katanga (Shaba), Democratic Republic of Congo (size: 11.5 x 6.0 x 4.5 cm)
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