paradamite

Paradamite is the triclinic dimorph of adamite (Back 2022). It was first reported from Tsumeb by Keller and Bartelke (1982) who described "… brilliant, water-clear, tabular crystals… [and] cleaved grains [of paradamite] up to 3 mm tall." The paradamite was accompanied by chalcocite, wulfenite and smithsonite, with the latter described as a "… very remarkable deep red" in colour. Keller and Bartelke (1982) proposed the following crystallisation sequence for this occurrence:

Chalcocite >> wulfenite >> paradamite >> smithsonite

Keller and Innes (1986) noted an occurrence of paradamite from the West 40 Stope on 32 Level where they also found betpakdalite, pharmacosiderite and ojuelaite.

The so-called "Zinc Pocket", on 44 Level in the third oxidation zone yielded specimens with ivory-coloured crystals of paradamite to 10 mm. These occurred as loose intergrowths of pale-yellow, tabular paradamite crystals, sometimes showing partial alteration to adamite, associated with reinerite and legrandite (Gebhard 1999).

A spearmint-green copper-bearing variety of paradamite also occurs in the third oxidation zone, as rounded aggregates of tabular crystals.

adamite; betpakdalite-CaCa (?); chalcocite; legrandite; leiteite; ojuelaite; pharmacosiderite; reinerite; smithsonite; wulfenite