Mimetite on Smithsonite (circa 1920's) - image 1
Mimetite on Smithsonite (circa 1920's) - image 2
Mimetite on Smithsonite (circa 1920's) - image 3
Mimetite on Smithsonite (circa 1920's) - image 4
Mimetite on Smithsonite (circa 1920's) - image 5

Mimetite on Smithsonite (circa 1920's)

Unknown Owner
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This is a very unusual combination piece both for the association itself (in style of each species) and for the simple fact that, for Tsumeb, the Smithsonite is just plain weird. I've seen only a very few smaller and lesser pieces from Tsumeb quite like it, with its botryoidal form and buff-colored tint. The largest botryoids are over 1 cm across. The Smithsonite is decorated with hundreds of drusy to euhedral tiny sparkling Mimetite crystals. The hexagonal Mimetites are lustrous, translucent to gemmy, and up to about 4mm Very interesting, to be sure, and dates back to the early 1900's according to the Tsumeb literati I showed this to (Sussman, Key, etc.). All in all, a very 3-dimensional, sculptural, and unusual smithsonite specimen from the early years of Tsumeb, when the First Oxidation Zone was being mined in the 1890s to about 1920.

Product details

SizeSmall Cabinet
Dimensions8.5 x 7.2 x 5.5 cm
Added on10/23/2024

Known provenance

DateCollectorAcquisition price
08/2024Unknown OwnerNot disclosed
The ArkenstoneNot disclosed

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Mimetite
Mineral guide
Learn about Mimetite
lead arsenate chloride crystals from canary yellow to orange; hexagonal prisms and campylite forms showcase color, variety, and localities.
Mimetite
Regional guide
Mimetite from Tsumeb Mine, Namibia
Tsumeb mimetite — glassy, transparent hexagonal prisms with sharp terminations; renowned paragenesis with smithsonite, cerussite, wulfenite; a benchmark locali…
    Mimetite on Smithsonite (circa 1920's) - Tsumeb, Oshikoto Region, Namibia