Smithsonite (Cobalt-bearing)

Item Description

A classic example of the beautiful pink Smithsonites from world-renowned Tsumeb Mine. This locality is not only regarded as one of the greatest mineral localities in history, it has the distinction of largely producing many "best of species" examples for the majority of the mineral found there. The Smithsonites from this locality are perhaps the most varied of anything found at Tsumeb, with a wide range of colors, chemistry and crystal habits, plus they are incredibly fine quality to boot. This piece is a lovely small cabinet of the desirable cobalt-bearing Smithsonites featuring many vitreous, gemmy, eye-catching pink color crystals measuring up to 5 mm, on matrix. Many of the crystals are in good shape, but there are some bruises in areas, so the piece is not pristine. I will say that it looks beautiful both up close, and on the shelf. Although Smithsonite is found in many world localities, the pieces from Tsumeb stand out for their sheer visceral beauty.
From the collection of legendary Colorado miner, Dave Bergman. Dave is now retired, but mined all over Colorado and was most famously the former the foreman and primary person in charge of recovering specimens at the famous Sweet Home Mine near Alma, Colorado during the late 1970s. He is also the maternal grandfather of Brian Kosnar. See Dave's photo mining at the Sweet Home on page 58 of Peter Bancroft's book "Gem and Crystal Treasures".