Smithsonite (excellent specimen) (ex Richard A. Kosnar Collection)

Item Description

The Kabwe Mine in Zambia (formerly referred to as Broken Hill) is one of the great old mines of Southern-Central Africa. This famous lead zinc producer is the type locality for well-known phosphates such as Tarbuttite and Parahopeite, but it also produced some fantastic secondary carbonates like Smithsonite. The typical Smithsonites from this locality are quite similar to those from Berk Aukus in Namibia as they both a gentle yellow color and the same crystal habit(s) for the most part. THIS piece however is a far cry from your typical Kabwe Smithsonite, and almost reminds me of something from Choix in Mexico. The piece features a handful of layers of Smithsonite in a range of colors starting with a surface coating of pastel orange colored aggregates of Smithsonite with a semi-vitreous luster which are overgrowing large "balls" of beautiful lavender Smithsonite and if you look on the side / back of the specimen, you will see that that the piece is actually banded and finished with a fairly thick layer of a lovely sea-foam green color Smithsonite. There is no matrix to speak of, the piece is sold Smithsonite throughout. The back edge of the piece was almost certainly sawed, as it is too smooth to be natural, but it honestly don't detract from the overall presentation of the piece. The only real damage is around the periphery where the piece appears to have been trimmed down, perhaps to reduce extra weight from broken Smithsonite on the edges. The largest "ball" of Smithsonite measures about 5.5 cm across. This piece comes to us from the collection of Richard A. Kosnar, who obtained it in the 1970s from his good friend and former business partner, Charlie Key. Rich Kosnar (1946-2007) was a world famous mineral dealer from Colorado, and the namesake for the phosphate mineral Kosnarite. This piece is one of the most impressive and unique examples of Smithsonite that I have seen from this locality, and if you collect secondary ore minerals, worldwide Smithsonites or simply general carbonates, do NOT miss out on this one. The piece comes with a FREE custom display base. Valued in the inventory at $5,000.