Cobaltoan Smithsonite - image 1

Cobaltoan Smithsonite

$900.00

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Tucson, Arizona, USA
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Cobalt-rich, also named Cobaltoan Smithsonite, is one of several varieties of Smithsonite that were found in the Tsumeb mine in Namibia. The deep, pipe-like structure of the Tsumeb orebody was originally formed by dissolution of the karstic country rock, hence the subsequent ore deposition processes were rich in carbonate. In this miniature, the Smithsonite forms two distinct rhombic crystals of translucent, pale salmon pink, with many much smaller rhombic crystals infilling between the two. This cluster of crystals displays well, set in a granular matrix for which a transparent acrylic base has been custom made, with a milled profile into which it fits.

Product details

Species
SmithsoniteAbout Smithsonite →
SizeMiniature
Dimensions3.5 x 3.5 x 2.5 cm
Listed on07/11/2025
Locality
Namibia, Oshikoto Region, TsumebRegional guide →
SKUCC30383

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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.