smithsonite

Tightly intergrown crystals of orange-pink smithsonite forming a dense, coarsely framboidal crust over a shard of partly oxidised galena-rich sulphide ore.

The specimen has been analysed by EMPA-WDS and LA-ICP-MS as part of a study of the causes of colour in smithsonite (Weall 2023; Southwood et al. 2025) who hypothesised that while Co (113 ppm) is just above the threshold required to influence colour, the “salmon-pink” hue of this specimen is primarily due to Mn (1921 ppm). Analytical data is presented in Exhibit 2.

galena