Smithsonite and Cerussite from Namibia, Oshikoto Region, Tsumeb - image 1
Smithsonite and Cerussite from Namibia, Oshikoto Region, Tsumeb - image 2

Smithsonite and Cerussite from Namibia, Oshikoto Region, Tsumeb

Alan Fertel
Alan Fertel
Leesport, Pa.
6 for sale·8 sold

Smithsonite coated Cerussite

Tsumeb Mine, Tsumeb, Oshikoto Region, Namibia

15.5 x 8.5 x 8 cm

ex. Chris Amo, Marshall Sussman, Fritz Dietz

This is a fantastic and somewhat unique, cabinet size specimen from Tsumeb. The large matrix is coated with both white and apple green Smithsonite from which numerous twinned, gemmy Cerussite crystals emerge.

This can be seen best in the second photo!

Many of these Cerussite xls have a light coating of the white Smithsonite making this combo even more interesting. A quick enlarging of the main photo shows the numerous Cerussite best.

From the collections of Chris Amo, Marshall Sussman, Fritz Dietz.

Product details

Species
Smithsonite, CerussiteAbout Smithsonite →
SizeLarge Cabinet
Dimensions15.5 x 8.5 x 8.0 cm
Added on01/24/2026
Locality
Namibia, Oshikoto Region, TsumebRegional guide →

Known provenance

DateCollectorAcquisition price
—Chris AmoNot disclosed
—Marshall SussmanNot disclosed
—Fritz DietzNot disclosed

Learn more

Smithsonite
Mineral guide
Learn about Smithsonite
ZnCO3 with botryoidal and crystalline forms, silky to vitreous luster, pastel hues from cobalt to yellow; localities boost collecting appeal.
Smithsonite
Regional guide
Smithsonite from Tsumeb, Namibia
is one of the defining collector minerals of Tsumeb: not merely because it is common there, but because Tsumeb turns a usually massive or botryoidal zinc carbonate into a locality signature mineral with uncommon crystal variety, depth of color, and association. Tsumeb smithsonite spans the familiar apple-greens and blue-greens of copper-bearing material, soft pink to violet-pink cobaltoan and manganoan-looking rhombs, yellow-brown and chocolate-brown iron-rich crystals, pale grey to white crusts, colorless to translucent rhombs, and rare red-pink material from the deeper oxidized workings. The best specimens combine sharp rhombohedral or scalenohedral crystals with the sculptural mineralogical theater for which Tsumeb is famous: galena-rich sulfide matrix, sugary dolomite, black tennantite and pyrite ore, cerussite, mimetite, malachite, wulfenite, duftite, dioptase, and willemite.