Image Credit: Malcolm Southwood
Image Credit: Malcolm Southwood
Specimen Title
Smithsonite
Principal Mineral
Size
Cabinet; 145mm
Location in the Mine
Provenance
Casanova, I.
Collection
Southwood, M.; MS2017.039
Entry Number
Specimen; TSNB806
Description
A large and somewhat cavernous specimen of oil-green smithsonite, comprising plate-like cores of massive material, richly encrusted with vermiform and (locally) framboidal aggregates of closely intergrown composite (stepped) rhombs (to circa 1 mm).
The specimen was purchased from Isaias Casnova in 2017 but with no record of earlier provenance or location in the mine.
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 (45345 ppm) which is almost certainly in solid solution in the smithsonite lattice. A relatively high Cd content (15166 ppm) is noted. Analytical data is presented in Exhibit 2.
