Miserite

Massive to crystalline miserite on matrix from the Hot Springs area, Garland County, Arkansas, USA. The specimen displays pink to purplish massive aggregates with a fine-grained crystalline texture, forming broad, irregular patches within the host rock. Individual crystal faces are not developed, which is typical for miserite, a mineral that most commonly occurs in compact masses rather than well-formed crystals.

Miserite is a rare calcium–potassium silicate, belonging to the silicate mineral class. The Hot Springs area represents a well-known and classic locality for this species, where it occurs in altered siliceous rocks associated with hydrothermal activity.

At this locality, miserite formed under low- to moderate-temperature hydrothermal conditions, related to fluid circulation along fractures and faults in the Ouachita Mountains. These fluids promoted the alteration of pre-existing silicate material, leading to the development of miserite as a secondary mineral phase.

Typical associated minerals at Hot Springs include quartz, feldspar, and various secondary silicates, although miserite itself is usually visually dominant due to its distinctive pink coloration.

Specimens from Hot Springs were mainly collected during non-industrial, post-mining or surface collecting periods, as the area is not a classic mining district but rather known for hydrothermal mineralization and thermal springs.