Manganoan Smithsonite - image 1

Manganoan Smithsonite

Unknown Owner
Lustrous, saturated pink rhombohedrons of smithsonite on a matrix of assorted sulphides. Sharp edges and nice color contrast. Some of the smithsonite appears to be included with minor sulphides as well. There is no damage visible to the main crystallized portion, with some contacts toward the outer edges.

Product details

Species
Smithsonite, PyriteAbout Smithsonite →
SizeMiniature
Dimensions4.5 x 3.0 x 2.0 cm
Added on09/13/2025
Locality
Namibia, Oshikoto Region, TsumebRegional guide →

Known provenance

DateCollectorAcquisition price
03/2026Unknown OwnerNot disclosed
—DanZ RockshopNot 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.