Pyromorphite with Tarbuttite

specimen number:
1052810

location:
Kabwe, Central Province, Zambia

description:
Good old classic Zambian specimen with yellow green prismatic crystals of pyromorphite measuring to 0.5 cm in size on matrix with colorless crystals of tarbuttite. This is in good condition with very minimal micro-damage present. The specimen comes with an antique label as shown at the end of the video and dates to the very early 20th century.

The Kabwe mine, historically known as the Broken Hill mine, located in the Central Province of Zambia, is a historic base-metal deposit known for its extensive lead, zinc, and vanadium production. Geologically, the deposit consists of massive, pipe-like sulfide orebodies hosted within Neoproterozoic dolomites of the Katanga Supergroup, formed by metal-rich hydrothermal fluids replacing the carbonate host rock. Intense and deep tropical weathering later oxidized these primary sulfide ores, creating a vast and complex supergene zone rich in secondary minerals such as cerussite, smithsonite, pyromorphite, and zinc phosphates like hopeite and tarbuttite. Discovered in 1902, the site saw commercial open-pit extraction begin around 1906 under the Rhodesia Broken Hill Development Company, eventually expanding into large-scale underground operations that drove the early industrial development of the region. Heavy extraction of base metals continued steadily throughout the twentieth century until declining ore grades, economic challenges, and the exhaustion of accessible reserves forced the official closure of the mine in 1994, leaving behind extensive tailing dumps that have seen periodic reprocessing efforts in the twenty-first century.

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