Smithsonite (1394)

Unknown Owner

Beautiful chatoyant slightly translucent pinkish purple botryoidal crystallized smithsonite with very little matrix. Complete all around and in great condition.Mining near Choix in Sinaloa, Mexico has produced zinc and lead minerals from deposits hosted in limestone and related sedimentary rocks. In the oxidized zones of these deposits smithsonite formed as a secondary zinc carbonate mineral during the weathering of primary zinc sulfide ores. Small scale mining and collecting in the area recovered smithsonite as botryoidal crusts and rounded masses with attractive colors. Specimens from the Choix region are known among collectors as examples of secondary zinc mineralization from northwestern Mexico.