Smithsonite

This specimen is Smithsonite from Block 14 Open Cut, Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia, measuring 85 x 65 x 34 mm and weighing 304 g. It is drawn from the David Vince Collection. Smithsonite is a zinc carbonate that characteristically forms within the oxidised cap of zinc-bearing orebodies, where primary zinc sulphide has weathered and recrystallised. The Broken Hill orebody, discovered in 1883, is one of the richest lead-zinc-silver deposits ever found and has yielded more than 280 recorded mineral species from its workings, with its secondary zinc minerals, Smithsonite prominent among them, long valued by collectors worldwide. Block 14 is one of the individual open cuts within the broader Broken Hill field, worked as part of the district's extensive history of oxidised-zone mining. At 85 x 65 x 34 mm and 304 g, the specimen is a good cabinet size for the species, with the Block 14 locality attribution retained. Smithsonite is moderately hard and stable under normal display conditions. The specimen's documented provenance is the David Vince Collection.