Manganoan Smithsonite from Namibia, Oshikoto Region, Tsumeb - image 1

Manganoan Smithsonite from Namibia, Oshikoto Region, Tsumeb

1
Alan Fertel
Alan Fertel
Leesport, Pa.
6 for sale·8 sold

Manganoan Smithsonite

Tsumeb Mine, Tsumeb, Oshikoto Region, Namibia

1.5 x 2.5 x 1.4 cm


This is a near perfect, competition level TN of Manganoan Smithsonite from Tsumeb. It features rhombic habit, great luster, and excellent zoning which at close examination appears checkered. Looking into the crystal, it is obvious that early growth featured a greater saturation of Manganese, with more dilute concentrations at later growth, allowing for greater transparency. A beautiful Tsumeb Smithsonite TN for sure!

Product details

Species
SmithsoniteAbout Smithsonite →
SizeThumbnail
Dimensions1.5 x 2.5 x 1.4 cm
Added on11/15/2025
Locality
Namibia, Oshikoto Region, TsumebRegional guide →

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.