Smithsonite (Copper-bearing)

Item Description

Smithsonites from Tsumeb are celebrated for their wide variety of styles and colors. Some of the most recognizable examples are the green copper-bearing specimens, like this one. This piece features flowing, botryoidal aggregates of beautiful green color Smithsonite, covering the underlying host rock matrix. The piece is nearly damage-free on the top/display side, save one small contacted area on the corner where it was separated from the pocket wall. There is a thin pearly white overgrowth of Smithsonite on the surface of some of the green aggregates, and the lack of color presumably is due to the fact that there wasn't enough copper in the pocket to saturate all the way through. Classic material from what many people agree is the world's greatest mineral locality. From the collection of Colin Manlove.