Smithsonite

Unknown Owner

Help improve this recordNo 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.

This beautiful, shockingly colorful blue smithsonite could be easily mistaken as being from the famous Kelly mine in New Mexico, however it is from the Republic of Congo – more than 8000 miles away! This striking small cabinet features massive, electric-blue smithsonite on matrix. Around parts of the periphery and on the bottom of the specimen, there are some areas of grey/colorless smithsonite along with some patches of aurichalcite. There are thick areas suitable for lapidary, carving grade, material. In the summer of 2021, a few pockets of bright blue smithsonites and aurichalcites were found at Yanga Koubenza in the Republic of Congo. While the locality has been known since the early 1900s, this exciting discovery is the first time material like this has been recovered from here. The strong blue color of the smithsonites is possibly due to inclusions of aurichalcite. We obtained a small lot of some of the best of the finds, of which this specimen is a part. This large specimen is heavy, 600 grams.