Cerussite

specimen number:
1471024

location:
Tsumeb mine, Otjikoto, Namibia

description:

Classic large v-shaped twinned crystal grouping of cerussite with little attached matrix. The crystals are lustrous and translucent, typical with slight micro-chipping present, this one still in really good condition. Crystallized completely all around. The specimen comes with a custom acrylic display base.

The Tsumeb Mine, located in the Otavi Mountains of northern Namibia, is a world-renowned polymetallic ore deposit hosted within Precambrian carbonate rocks. Geologically, the deposit formed within a steeply dipping, pipe-like structure created by intense tectonic activity, karstification, and hydrothermal fluid circulation. It is celebrated globally for its extraordinary mineralogy, featuring hundreds of distinct mineral species—including dozens found nowhere else on Earth—owing to deep oxidation zones that produced exceptional secondary crystal specimens. Indigenous peoples initially utilized surface outcrops for copper, but large-scale industrial mining began in 1897 under German colonial rule, turning the site into a massive producer of copper, lead, zinc, and germanium until its final closure in 1996.

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