Smithsonite var. Cuprian

$3,500.00

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T

The ArkenstoneFeatured

3,403 for sale·Member since 2026

I find it to be a constant source of amazement how the Lavrion Mining District, which dates all the way back to the Bronze Age, is still producing specimens that are both interesting and substantial from the vast network of underground tunnels that remain. However, larger specimens and things of this quality are still scarce, and tend to be hoarded by local collectors who risk life and limb to find them. This cabinet-sized specimen, mined in 2019 from the Sourion mines, is composed of an expansive layer of attractive mint-green, lustrous, and botryoidal Smithsonite that completely covers one side of the sawed matrix. Interestingly, the color is noticeably different than the more olive hues of other Smithsonites typically from the Sounion #6, where Malachite is involved in the paragenesis of many of the minerals. This is thought to be a cuprian, copper-influenced color. The texture of the botryoids really stands out due to the luster, and it also helps accentuate the subtle translucence. This is an impressive, in both size and aesthetics, Smithsonite from this historic district. It is distinct from anything superficially similar from Tsumeb but looks for all the world like material from the old 79 Mine in Arizona!