Manganese Silicate-Carbonate Protore (Queluzite) from the Srikakulam Manganese Belt, Andhra Pradesh

Manganese silicate-carbonate protore (queluzite) and a rare manganese olivine (knebelite) are being reported for the first time from India. The protore is comparable to the 'Queluzite Type' and occurs as conformable bands in close association with manganese ore body as well as different members of the Khondalite Group of rocks. So far, the knebelite is reported to occur in association with other manganese minerals, particularly in iron-manganese ore deposits and their associated skarns. It is surmised that the protore represents metamorphic equivalent of carbonate-silica-bearing manganiferous sediments.