Chalcedony var. Orbicular Jasper from Marovato, Ambolobozo, Madagascar

Dimension: 5.8cm x 5.2cm x 2.8cm
Weight: 109g
Locality: Marovato, Ambolobozo, Analalava, Sofia, Madagascar
 
A beautiful hand-polished Chalcedony var. Jasper measuring 5.8cm in length from the depleted Marovato Mine of Madagascar.  Marovato in Malagasy means “a lot of stones”, Marovato Mine is located directly on the shoreline near the village of Marovato.  Chalcedony of this kind is commonly called Orbicular Jasper because of its bulls-eyes and floral pattern formed by druzy Quartz surrounded orbs.  They are also called Ocean Jasper because it was originally collected along the northwest shoreline of Madagascar. 
 
The first Marovato vein was discovered in 1999 and three to four more veins were mined until they were tapped out, in around 2014-2015.  Orbicular Jasper from the first vein have less clearly defined orbs and the colors are usually green, white and pink.  Those from the more recently discovered veins (further inland) tend to have clear bulls-eyes/very defined orbs and a wider range of colors including, blue, yellow, red, brown, orange and grey.  Gas cavaties and Quartz intergrowths within the crystal are also a common feature of Orbicular Jasper.