Image Credit: Malcolm Southwood
Image Credit: Malcolm Southwood
Specimen Title
Smithsonite
Principal Mineral
Size
Cabinet; 35mm
Location in the Mine
Undetermined
Provenance
Stacey, G.
Collection
Carr, P.; PFC2007.037
Entry Number
Specimen; TSNB792
Description
Translucent, pale green sheaves (to 5 mm) of sub-mm smithsonite crystallites forming a thick crust on a matrix of Fe-stained dolostone.
The specimen was purchased from Australian collector George Stacey in 2007, but with no record of its earlier provenance.
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 hypothesized that the principal chromophore is Cu (15348 ppm) which is almost certainly in solid solution in smithsonite lattice. A relatively high As content (1182 ppm) is noted, but BSE images showed no indication of included arsenate minerals. Analytical data is presented in Exhibit 2.
