Smithsonite (Cadmium-bearing) (New Find!)

Item Description

Here we have a really cool specimen from a new find in 2021 at teh famous Kelly Mine in Mexico. There were a select number of these pieces available at this year's Tucson Show, and we picked up a handful of nice specimens specifically to put in the auctions. These pieces are special for their rare yellow color. The typical color associated with Smithsonites from the Kelly Mine in New Mexico is an intense blue hue, arguably the most famous blue shade seen in any Smithsonites from around the world. This small discovery was made in what was called the "Sardinia Stope" of the mine (in reference to the famous Masua Mine in Sardinia, Italy) which produced comparable desirable YELLOW Smithsonites many years ago. I've only seen a couple of these botryoidal yellow Smithsonites over the years, but this new find produced the most pieces that we've seen. The color is due to cadmium content, and I've seen one specimen online that says the color is from hawleyite-greenockite inclusions, but I can't say if that's the case with this piece. This piece hosts several almost velvety, botryoidal soft yellow (cadmium-bearing) Smithsonite groups on matrix. If you collect Smithsonite, minerals of New Mexico or cool secondary ore minerals, don't miss out on this beautiful and exciting newly discovered piece for your collection.