Image Credit: Malcolm Southwood
Image Credit: Malcolm Southwood
Specimen Title
Smithsonite
Principal Mineral
Size
Cabinet; 59mm
Location in the Mine
Undetermined
Provenance
Gardner, A.E.
Collection
Geoscience Australia; R22267
Entry Number
Specimen; TSNB801
Description
Elongated, sheaf-like aggregates of intensely lime-green smithsonite lining a vug in massive smithsonite.
The specimen is from the collection of the Reverend A.E. Gardner which was purchased by the Australian Bureau of Mineral Resources (now Geoscience Australia) in 1974.
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 (38333 ppm) which is almost certainly in solid solution in the smithsonite lattice. Analytical data is presented in Exhibit 2.
