Manganoan Smithsonite - image 1

Manganoan Smithsonite

$750.00

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DanZ Rockshop
DanZ RockshopFeatured
Arvada, Colorado, USA
1,814 for sale·31 sold
This is a really quite an interesting specimen for a variety of reasons. The first reason is that due to the particular reddish color of the smithsonite and the association with pyrite this specimen would typically be attributed as a manganoan smithsonite rather than a stereotypical cobaltoan smithsonite. These particular manganoan smithsonites were mined 1984-1985 and are much harder to find than the cobaltoan variety. Now I will state that no analysis has been done and this attribution of color due to trace elements at Tsumeb is actually quite a tricky topic and many purist will argue it should be simply called smithsonite. So truly a greatly interesting specimen if you like Tsumeb mineralogy. Ex. Blain Bard

Product details

Species
Smithsonite, ChalcociteAbout Smithsonite →
SizeMiniature
Dimensions4.5 x 4.3 x 2.4 cm
Listed on09/16/2025
Locality
Namibia, Oshikoto Region, TsumebRegional guide →
SKU23322

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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.