the.com/smithsonite
A zinc mineral that disguises itself as fifty other gems before anyone catches on.
means Smithsonite is a zinc carbonate mineral, often found in soft pastel colors and lustrous botryoidal forms, valued by collectors and historically as an ore of zinc.
from Named in honor of James Smithson, the English chemist and mineralogist whose bequest founded the Smithsonian Institution. He had studied zinc minerals closely, and the species was named after him in the 19th century. The '-ite' ending is the standard mineralogical suffix, from Greek 'lithos' (stone) by way of Latin '-ites', the same tag that closes out countless rock names.
- named for
- Chemist James Smithson, who funded the Smithsonian
- sneaky chameleon
- Comes in blue, green, pink, purple, yellow
- once called
- Confused with hemimorphite as plain calamine
- glows up
- Botryoidal blobs look like frozen grape clusters
- zinc source
- Historically smelted as a key zinc ore
smithsonite from tsumeb — zinc carbonate mineral from tsumeb mine in namibia, prized for its blue and green varieties
smithsonite from kelly — zinc carbonate deposits at kelly mining district in new mexico, historically major us source