smithsonite

Smithsonite

Smithsonite Lapis calaminaris was a name used by Agricola in 1546. In 1747, Johan Gottschalk Wallerius (Vallerius) used the simplified name, Calamine for zinc carbonate.

In 1780, Torbern Bergmann analyzed Calamines and found that they were mixed ores of zinc carbonates and silicates.

In 1803, James Smithson conducted a systematic investigation of Calamines and showed that ores identified as Calamine were composed of several minerals: a carbonate and a silicate. The carbonate "calamine" was renamed Smithsonite in 1832 by François Sulpice Beudant in honor of James Smithson [1754-1829], British chemist, mineralogist and benefactor of the Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC, USA).

Formula  ZnCO3
Color White, gray, yellow, green to apple green, blue, pink, purple, blue-gray and brown; colorless or faintly tinted in transmitted light
Luster Glassy, Pearly
Hardness 4 - 4½
Specific weight  4.42 - 4.44
Crystal System Trigonal
Transparency Translucent
Locatieon Australia, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Namibia, Spain Vs

Smithsonite belongs to the Calcite group.

Smithsonite is often found as a secondary mineral in the oxidation zone of zinc ore deposits. It can also be observed in sedimentary deposits and as a direct oxidation product of sphalerite.

There is an interchange option with Chyropras, Hemimorphite, Jade & Turquoise

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