*** All information about the metaphysical properties of the listings on this site is for reference only and is to be understood in this context. It is based on research of opinions and beliefs from different cultures today and throughout history and my own personal beliefs.The information is not to be taken as a replacement for a medical examination, diagnosis, or treatment. For medical advice, please consult a healthcare professional. ***

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This material was sourced from approximately 50 kilometres north-west of Tom Price, near Mt Brockman, adjacent to Caves Creek Valley on Hammersley Station. Due to the many contributing minerals forming “Mara Mamba” Tiger Eye the colours in each piece can vary quite a lot. Whilst these pieces are not the finest examples of this material they represent great value for money for this material.

This piece weighs 200g and has a diameter of approximately 4.5cm.

Mara Mamba Tiger Eye is a rare variety of Tiger Eye found only in the Hamersley Ranges of the Pilbara region in Western Australia. Only two deposits have ever produced “true” Mara Mamba, a rare type with reds, blues, yellow, gold and greens. This area is now mined out so the other pieces coming on the market are from old stock.

So, what minerals make the colours?
WHITE - Quartz: SiO2 The pure mineral is colourless or white. However, if it encloses a microscopic dust of coloured minerals, it will take on that colour, so jasper, for example, is quartz coloured by red hematite (iron oxide). \n
YELLOW - Goethite: FeO(OH) - may also contain other hydrated iron oxides, "limonite". The powdered mineral is yellow. Goethite can also be shades of brown when in larger crystals. \n
RED - Hematite: Fe203 The powdered mineral is blood red. The mineral can also have a dark grey, metallic appearance when in larger crystals. \n
BLUE - Riebeckite Na2Fes[Si80~](OH)~ This is a dark blue fibrous amphibole mineral, sometimes called "crocidolite". \n
GREEN - usually a mixture of blue riebeckite and yellow goethite, often hosted by quartz.\n
BLACK - Hematite Fe~O3, and/or Magnetite Fe304.

The Marra Mamba Formation is an iron-rich sedimentary unit in the Archaean-Paleoproterozoic Hamersley Group (about 2.5 Ba) comprising chert, ferruginous chert, jaspilite, banded iron assemblages, minor shale, siltstone, and mudstone originating in a marine environment. It tends to be more friable, with a high ochreous goethite content than the younger overlying Brockman Formation. The goethite results both from hydration of isolated iron oxide microlaminae and from weathering of the disseminated carbonates and silicates.

Oxygen producing photosynthetic bacteria evolved more than 2700 million years ago, and gave off oxygen as a waste product. This oxygen built up in the atmosphere and dissolved in the sea water. When iron, produced mainly from huge submarine volcanoes came in contact with this oxygen, it precipitated as iron oxide in the sea floor and resulted in iron-rich and silica-rich bands, which are now classified as banded iron formations (BIFs).

This section comprises 3 units:\n(1) The uppermost Mount Newman unit is about 55m thick and consists of magnetite-rich associations which include: quartz, magnetite, minnesotaite, riebeckite, stilpnomelane, dolomite (or ankerite), calcite, and traces of pyrite.\n(2) The McLeod member is similarly about 50m thick, sulphide-rich and contains variable amounts of: quartz, siderite, dolomite (or ankerite), stilpnomelane, minnesotaite, pyrrhotite and/or pyrite, and small amounts of carbon.\n(3) The lowest 140m Nammuldi unit has little economic interest and therefore has not received much attention.

The banded iron-formation assemblages, at very low temperatures of metamorphism, do not appear to be as sensitive to relatively small temperature changes as do very low grade metamorphic volcanics. The iron-formation assemblages may have originated over a temperature range of 100-300°C.

Burial and heating brought about crystallisation of these layers and solutions carrying sodium penetrated through some layers, causing Riebeckite to form. Earth movements throughout the millions of years caused folding and faulting to occur, distortion the layers. Heated fluids passed through the rock and dissolved material and redeposited it elsewhere. The fibrous Riebeckite crystals were replaced by silica with fine dusts of yellow Goethite. These fibrous bands lead Tiger Eye to be classified as a chatoyant gemstone

About 2000 million years ago, the Pilbara and many other very old pieces of the continental crust were joined together in a supercontinent. When this supercontinent finally began to break up, waters heated by volcanic activity dissolved much silica from the banded iron formation, leaving huge iron ore deposits of almost pure hematite.

Tiger Eye:

Tiger eye is a golden-brown, chatoyant, siliceous fibre vein, rich in quartz and iron oxides, usually with some riebeckite. It contains multiple bands of green, red, blue, orange jasper, with golden tiger eye, which has a chatoyant effect golden sheen reflected from the fine parallel fibres in the slabs.

Originally it was thought to be a pseudomorph of crocidolite formed by the silica replacement of crocidolite (riebeckite) fibres. Another more recent theory suggests the veins formed as fibrous quartz crystals with interspersed hematite and riebeckite fibres, growing rapidly from the surrounding rocks during low grade metamorphism.

While tiger eye is the most common name, a confusing variety of other names are applied to related material. Hawks eye (blue), falcons eye (green) and pietersite (brecciated) are a few. "Bulls eye" is a heat treated Tiger eye, where the yellow limonite has been converted to red hematite, giving it an overall red colour.

Hematite:

Hematite’s name is derived from the Greek word haima, meaning blood. This stone is known for connecting the body to the Earth. Ancient Greeks associated Hematite with Mars, the god of war. Many warriors, including ancient Greeks, Romans, and Native Americans, used crushed Hematite on their bodies to create a red paint-like appearance thought to keep them safe in battle. Hematite was believed to make a warrior invulnerable and give them courage and strength. During the Patheolithic era, early humans created cave paintings using the red pigment from ground-up Hematite.

Hematite was also used for medicinal purposes in ancient times. In Mesopotamia, Hematite was used to cool the blood. Similarly, in ancient Egypt, Hematite was recommended for treating inflammation because of its iron oxide properties.

Hematite is a very special mineral that was believed to be used by man 164,000 years ago. A small area south of Mossel Bay in South Africa has been excavated numerous times since 2000 and produced numerous artefacts dating back hundreds of thousands of years ago. Interestingly, an observation from one of the excavations was that of writing on a cave wall in a red powder substance. Through extensive research and analysis it had been confirmed that this powder was in fact Hematite.

NASA made a remarkable discovery when they found Hematite on Mars. It was found by the infrared spectrometer on the NASA Mars Global Surveyor and 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft when it was orbiting the planet. What makes this even more interesting is the need of water for Hematite to occur. NASA Scientists are now studying the images and samples in which they took to help better understand the environment of Mars, and if it is suitable for life.

Hematite is one of the most powerful grounding stones in the mineral kingdom, intended to root your body and mind back to Earth. This stone helps refocus your thoughts and actions into those that matter to you most while guiding you on the right path. It's a stone of attraction, much like that of a magnet. Hematite is constantly pulling down excess energy from your environment to help you use it towards your best interests. Once your focus becomes anchored to the Earth, Hematite shows you that anything you desire is achievable.

Known as a stone of invincibility on all levels - physical, astral, and mental - \na warrior stone, it is also very fragile in nature. And thus paradoxically, it looks to be nurtured and cared for by its owner. This beautiful metaphor of appearing strong on the outside but delicate on the inside represents how as humans we give so much more importance to our Ego and the external world than we do to our Soul. The ego hinders our evolution of more profound self-discovery and creates an illusion that we each have an identity or are separate from each other.

Upon detaching from the illusion that we are just a physical body, magic starts to manifest in our lives. Through awareness as observers of our thoughts, and as observers of the outer world, we can ascend much faster on our souls’ journey into higher levels of awareness.

Unlike other dark and earth stones, for example, Obsidian, Hematite is a nurturing stone. It is taking you on a gradual path during your Spiritual evolution, without causing too much shock or stress. That is why it’s ideal for those who wish to heal through confronting their past, slowly and gently. Healing these traumas and rewriting old thought patterns will initiate your connection back to Mother Earth, helping you reconnect with your body, bring your clarity, and focus on the positive parts of life.

Riebeckite:

Riebeckite is a sodium-rich member of the amphibole family. It typically forms dark blue elongated to fibrous crystals in highly sodic granites, syenites, iron formations and schists.

Riebeckite is not a well known mineral although most people have probably seen stones that at one time were composed of riebeckite crystals. The typically dark blue mineral was named after a famous eighteenth century German explorer and minerologist, Emil Riebeck.

Crocidolite is often found pseudomorphed by Quartz  into an attractive ornamental stone. The stone is extremely popular as a semi-precious stone and is known by many trade names such as Tiger’s Eye, Hawk’s Eye, Falcon’s Eye, etc.

A pseudomorph is an atom by atom replacement of one mineral for another, without significant destruction of the original mineral’s outward shape. The pseudomorphing of riebeckite’s fibres does two things; it preserves the beauty of the fibres and their lustrous light effects and it produces a much more durable stone that is now, thanks to the silicification, suitable for carving and jewellery. Blue tiger’s eye has preserved the original blue colour of the riebeckite while the more common brown colour is the result of some oxidation of the iron into Limonite inclusions. Although it is improper to refer to tiger’s eye as being a form of riebeckite because there is no riebeckite present in the stone, credit must be given to this mineral for the aid in producing this wonderfully beautiful ornamental stone.

This crystal helps you change things that are in the way of your spiritual growth or to move them out of the way. It encourages friendship and helps you to be cheerful. This is an excellent crystal for the study and pursuit of mathematics. Riebeckite is a great problem-solver; helping you to wade through easily to the solution. This crystal also brings out the problem-solving abilities you already have. It brings out your psychic or intuitive side. Riebeckite also helps you put the lid on any areas where you tend to over-extend yourself, reminding you gently to avoid that behaviour.

Brings forth happiness and cheerfulness. A key stone in meditation. Encourages problem solving capabilities. Aligns Chakras for intuition and psychic powers to further promote activities in those areas. Brings protection in travelling. Riebeckite stimulates mathematical natures. This is a good stone for those of you who work in any type of maths fields. Reminds us to not over-extend ourselves be it emotional or physical Stimulates the Pineal gland. Used in the treatment of dyslexia and learning disabilities. Aids in healing the eyes. Also used to calm mental confusion and instability. Regulates the endocrine glands to produce the hormones concerned with growth, sex, metabolism, blood pressure, and body temperature.