Mn₄Be₃(S(SiO₄)₃)

This sample containing helvite is displayed in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. The sample is described as spessartine with helvite, quartz, and microcline. Helvite is a silicate mineral of beryllium, sulfur and manganese with the composition Mn₄Be₃(S(SiO₄)₃). The sample at left is about 20 cm long and is from Tongbei, Fujian Province, China. The black crystals are taken to be microcline, the orange spessartine, and the tan helvite. The typical color for helvite is golden yellow to brown.

This sample is described as helvite with quartz and pyrite. You can see three generations of growth in this speciment. Clear quartz formed first. The yellow crystal of helvite grew on top, and flecks of brassy pyrite crystallized later. The sample is about 5x5 cm and is from Pachapaqui mine, Huanuco, Peru.