Smithsonite

specimen number:
2133189

location:
Berg Aukas, Grootfontein, Namibia

description:
An interesting locality example for the species, well crystallized smithsonite across the top of matrix. The specimen comes with a previous collection data card as shown at the end of the video and dates back to 1960 or earlier. What appears to be small colorless crystals of cerussite are scattered throughout.

The Berg Aukas Mine, located near Grootfontein in the Otavi Mountain Land of northern Namibia, is world-renowned for its exceptional descloizite and willemite specimens. Geologically, the deposit is a Mississippi Valley-Type (MVT) lead-zinc-vanadium ore body hosted in Neoproterozoic dolostones of the Otavi Group. The mineralization occurs within a complex hydrothermal breccia pipe, where primary sulfide minerals were later oxidized to form a diverse suite of secondary minerals, including the iconic deep brown to black, lustrous descloizite crystals for which the site is the type locality. Historically, the deposit was discovered in the early 1900s, with significant mining operations commencing in 1920. The mine was a major global producer of vanadium, lead, and zinc, operating somewhat sporadically through various economic cycles under the management of the South West Africa Company. Following several decades of intensive production, the primary mining operations ceased in 1978 due to the depletion of easily accessible ore and falling metal prices. Today, Berg Aukas is celebrated by mineralogists for producing what are widely considered the finest descloizite crystals in existence, characterized by their incredible size, complex forms, and brilliant adamantine luster.

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