Many people asked me about this piece, when they first saw this unique combo: Dioptase on Wulfenite from the world-class locality: Tsumeb, Namibia（closed in 1996).

The Tsumeb polymetallic Copper deposit is one of the critical carbonate-hosted manifestations of Cu, Pb, Zn mineralization within the Otavi Mountain Land, a mineral zone of the Northern Carbonate Platform of the Pan African Damara Oroge.

Formation of Tsumeb mine is magically done by the nature. Sedimentalogy wasn't my interest until I noticed Tsumeb mine is interrelated. The dolomite and limestone of the Neoproterozoic age are the major lithology, and development mechanism of the pipe-like body structure of the ore was a result of solution pipe and karst activities. Meteoric water is another important factor to crystallize the beautiful secondary crystals, when surface water rich in oxygen or underground water reacts with sulfides such as pyrite and hydrogen sulfide to form sulfuric acid solution that reacted with wall rock to form the cavities and alteration of primary sulfides minerals. Such as derive dioptase from alteration of copper sulfide minerals and wulfenite by supergene alteration of galena.

I will try to reshoot the picture in the future for a better angle and quality (this was shot in 2021).

Jingnan (Tom) Zhang Coll & Photo, 3cm