Descloizite - image 1
Descloizite - image 2
specimen video
Updated 2d ago

Descloizite

Help improve this record

No owner is registered for this specimen yet. If it's yours or you know more about it, you can add the owner, provenance, publications and other details.

Sign in to contribute
Fine grouping of semi lustrous sharp spear shaped descloizite crystals without matrix. In great condition. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark.Discovered in 1913, the Berg Aukas Mine near Grootfontein in northern Namibia operated primarily from the 1920s until its closure in 1978, serving as a major producer of zinc, lead, and vanadium. Geologically, the deposit is situated within a complex karst and collapse breccia structure hosted by Neoproterozoic carbonate rocks of the Otavi Group. The mineralization formed within steeply dipping discordant bodies and stratabound horizons where descending meteoric waters oxidized primary sulfides, creating rich secondary concentrations. The site gained international renown among mineral collectors for yielding exceptional, highly lustrous crystal specimens, particularly of descloizite, before mining operations ultimately ceased due to exhausted high-grade zones and shifting economic conditions.

Product details

SpeciesDescloizite
SizeMiniature
Dimensions4.0 x 3.0 x 2.0 cm
Added on10/01/2026
LocalityNamibia, Otjozondjupa Region, Berg Aukas Mine
Current owner
Unknown Owner
Acquired
Oct 2026
Price paid
$200.00
Previous owners
DateCollectorAcquisition price
—Weinrich MineralsNot disclosed

Learn more

Descloizite
Mineral guide
Learn about Descloizite
lead-zinc vanadate with lustrous rosettes, black-to-brown tones, and warm translucence; top localities Otavi, Namibia and Ojuela, Mexico.
Descloizite
Regional guide
Descloizite from Berg Aukas Mine, Namibia
Berg Aukas descloizite is one of the great “species-defining” classics: the locality by which serious collectors judge descloizite. The best pieces have a sculptural, almost architectural presence—dark brown to nearly black spear-point crystals, glossy blades, jackstraw bundles, radiating rosettes, and sharply terminated clusters that can look metallic under a show lamp yet glow warm reddish brown along thinner edges. Many specimens sit in pleasing contrast on pale calcite, dolomite, smithsonite, or willemite-bearing matrix, giving the dark vanadate crystals the visual authority of black lacquer against limestone.
Locality guide
Berg Aukas Mine
Berg Aukas Mine, Namibia - a premier Otavi Mountainland locality famed for dark descloizite crystals, vanadates, and rich smithsonite, prized by collectors.