Smithsonite (Stalactite) - image 1
Smithsonite (Stalactite) - image 2
specimen video

Smithsonite (Stalactite)

Unknown Owner
An unusual, slightly ovalized stalactite of colourless and gemmy Smithsonite crystals from Tsumeb mine in the Oshikoto Region of Namibia. The stalactite's core is visible at opposite ends of the specimen and is a black mineral, varying between polycrystalline and granular with a metallic lustre in parts and thought probably to be Sphalerite. This is coated with creamy white to salmon pink micro-crystals of Smithsonite over which the large and gemmy outer covering of Smithsonite crystals have formed. This out layer is quite stunning, composed of interlocked curved rhombic Smithsonite as colourless and gemmy crystals averaging 1 to 1.3 cm on edge with occasional crystals to 1.6 cm. These are all glassy with a brilliant reflective lustre while their pure transparency allows the underlying salmon pink to show through. Without doubt, a fabulous, good-sized cabinet Smithsonite stalactite from Tsumeb.

Product details

Species
SmithsoniteAbout Smithsonite →
SizeCabinet
Dimensions4.5 x 12.9 x 3.5 cm
Added on10/24/2024
Locality
Namibia, Oshikoto Region, TsumebRegional guide →

Known provenance

DateCollectorAcquisition price
06/2026Unknown Owner$7,500.00
—Crystal ClassicsNot disclosed

Learn more

Smithsonite
Mineral guide
Learn about Smithsonite
ZnCO3 with botryoidal and crystalline forms, silky to vitreous luster, pastel hues from cobalt to yellow; localities boost collecting appeal.
Smithsonite
Regional guide
Smithsonite from Tsumeb, Namibia
is one of the defining collector minerals of Tsumeb: not merely because it is common there, but because Tsumeb turns a usually massive or botryoidal zinc carbonate into a locality signature mineral with uncommon crystal variety, depth of color, and association. Tsumeb smithsonite spans the familiar apple-greens and blue-greens of copper-bearing material, soft pink to violet-pink cobaltoan and manganoan-looking rhombs, yellow-brown and chocolate-brown iron-rich crystals, pale grey to white crusts, colorless to translucent rhombs, and rare red-pink material from the deeper oxidized workings. The best specimens combine sharp rhombohedral or scalenohedral crystals with the sculptural mineralogical theater for which Tsumeb is famous: galena-rich sulfide matrix, sugary dolomite, black tennantite and pyrite ore, cerussite, mimetite, malachite, wulfenite, duftite, dioptase, and willemite.