Libethenite

specimen number:
2063688

location:
Mindola pit, Nkana Mine, Kitwe, Copperbelt Province, Zambia

description:

A cluster of deep green blocky lustrous libethenite crystals with little attached matrix. In good condition, classic for the species and locality. This would have been collected in the 1970s.

The Mindola pit and the broader Nkana Mine complex near Kitwe in the Copperbelt Province of Zambia feature sediment-hosted copper and cobalt deposits formed within Proterozoic metasedimentary rocks of the Roan Group. Mining operations in this region began in the early twentieth century, transforming the area into one of Africa's most prominent industrial and mineralized districts. The geology consists of stratiform orebodies localized within argillites, dolomites, and quartzites, where metal-bearing fluids circulated through ancient sedimentary basins. Beyond large-scale industrial extraction, the complex has historically yielded notable mineral specimens for collectors, though the deep underground and historical open-pit workings are primarily recognized for massive copper and cobalt production that has driven the regional economy for nearly a century.

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