Image Credit: Sharon Cisneros
Specimen Title
Smithsonite
Associated Minerals
galena; tennantite subgroup
Principal Mineral
Size
Thumbnail; 29mm
Location in the Mine
Undetermined
Collection
Cisneros, S. & E.
Entry Number
Specimen; TSNB976
Description
A fragment of coarsely crystallised sulphide material - principally galena and tennantite subgroup - supports a crust of intergrown pale pink smithsonite crystals and a single free-standing rhombohedral smithsonite crystal measuring 19 mm in maximum dimension. The large crystal is highly translucent and very pale pink in colour, but with a subtle peach-coloured blush, possibly due to the presence of iron oxide inclusions. The overall pink colouration of the smithsonite is probably due to the presence of trace amounts of cobalt substituting for zinc in the crystal lattice.
The specimen is in the collection of Sharon and Eugene Cisneros.
