Image Credit: Malcolm Southwood
Image Credit: Malcolm Southwood
Specimen Title
Smithsonite
Associated Minerals
conichalcite-duftite (?); dolomite (?)
Principal Mineral
Size
Cabinet; 60mm
Location in the Mine
Undetermined; Blue Pocket
Provenance
Rosewarne, P.; Bruce, I.
Collection
Southwood, M.; MS2016.063
Entry Number
Specimen; TSNB805
Associated Minerals
conichalcite-duftite (?); dolomite (?)
Description
A smithsonite specimen from the so-called "Blue Pocket", comprising zoned rhombs of greenish-blue smithsonite (to 6mm) loosely distributed on a crust of sugary, pinkish-brown dolomite. A little duftite-conichalcite (?) is present in the matrix on the reverse side.
The specimen was purchased from Ian Bruce (Crystal Classics) in 2016; it was formerly in the collection of Peter Rosewarne (South Africa).
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 (19074 ppm) in the presence of low concentrations of Fe (22 ppm) and Mn (4 ppm). Analytical data is presented in Exhibit 2.
