Image Credit: Malcolm Southwood
Image Credit: Malcolm Southwood
Specimen Title
Smithsonite
Principal Mineral
Size
Cabinet; 91mm
Location in the Mine
Undetermined
Provenance
Latz, C.V.
Collection
Geoscience Australia; R28187
Entry Number
Specimen; TSNB788
Description
A vug containing modified smithsonite rhombs (to 9 mm), colourless to sea-green and gemmy, in a matrix of mineralised dolostone.
The specimen is from the collection of Clement Victor Latz which was donated to the Australian Bureau of Mineral Resources (now Geoscience Australia) in 1976.
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). They hypothesised that the principal chromophore is Cu (22664 ppm) which is almost certainly in solid solution in the smithsonite lattice. Analytical data is presented in Exhibit 2.
