In a specimen purchased as "manganvesuvianite", transmitted lighted microscopy showed the deep-red crystals in hand sample are actually optically zoned under the microscope, showing base colors of yellow-orange to red to purple (in addition to these base colors, the crystals are pleochroic as well). Microprobe analysis further showed that the crystals are also compositionally zoned, with the optically purple areas significantly enriched in Cu relative to the more optically orange areas; presumably the "blue" contribution of the Cu2+ added to the red of the Mn3+ results in the purple color? The zoned crystals range in composition from Cu-bearing manganvesuvianite to Mn-bearing cyprine (with observed Cu2+ up to 0.89 apfu). The zoned vesuvianite-group minerals occur as open space filling the sample in the dominant hausmannite (some of which is Pb-enriched). Minor Sr-enriched fluorapatite, braunite, Sr-free barite, and henmiterierite are also present.
