Anorthite Skarn with Dispersed Chromium-Hydrogrossular from the Muslim Bagh Area, Pakistan

A white to light green opaque ornamental rock with green spots, collected near Muslim Bagh, Balochistan, Pakistan, was submitted for identification. Thin sections for a petrographic investigation were produced and the mineral components were identified optically and tested by Raman spectrometry. In the white ground mass of basic plagioclase, idiomorphic bright green Cr-hydrogrossular crystals are irregularly dispersed. Further components are minor diopside and on fractures, clinozoisite, zoisite and zeolite occur.The specific gravity of the rock is 2.73 and the refractive index is about 1.57.This material is compared with a similar looking rock from Zambales, Luzon, Philippines, which was identified as anorthosite with idiomorphic small uvarovite crystals.