Leiteite

specimen number:
2133142

location:
Tsumeb Mine, Otjikoto, Namibia

description:
Colorless lustrous silky crystallized grouping without matrix. From the type locality. Good thumbnail for the species.

The Tsumeb Mine in northern Namibia is one of the most famous mineral localities in the world and was worked from the late 1800s until 1996 for copper, lead, and zinc. The deposit is a complex pipe like ore body with exceptionally rich oxidized zones that produced a very large number of mineral species. Mining was carried out through deep underground workings and yielded both important ore production and outstanding mineral specimens.

Leiteite is a rare zinc arsenite mineral that forms in the oxidized zones of arsenic rich ore deposits. It typically occurs as colorless to white bladed or fibrous crystals, often forming delicate aggregates. The mineral is commonly associated with other arsenic bearing species and secondary minerals formed through alteration processes.

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