ZINCOLIVENITE

ABOUT THE SPECIMEN

Outstanding and rare thumbnail of zincolivenite (formerly thought to be cuprian adamite) from Tsumeb, held as producer of the best known samples of this species. Specimens with this combination of intense color, phenomenal form, and glassy luster only came out of Tsumeb's second oxidation zone in the 80's, and this one represents the best of the best of all those attributes. Make no mistake about it, this is absolutely a competition level TN, with brilliant emerald color, attention-grabbing visuals, and size just small enough to fit into a perky. 

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MORE INFO

Zincolivenite occupies an intermediate position in the adamite-olivenite solid solution series, with roughly equal copper and zinc substitution—the balance of these two elements shifts both chemistry and color, producing the spearmint to emerald greens characteristic of the species versus the darker, more olive tones of copper-dominant olivenite. At Tsumeb, the second oxidation zone generated the conditions needed to precipitate the species from arsenate-bearing supergene fluids percolating through the dolomite host, with the most significant material recovered during the early 1980s by John Innes, the mine's chief mineralogist at the time. Crystals occur as short prismatic to acicular individuals rarely exceeding 3–4 mm, typically forming dense drusy crusts or divergent sprays on quartz with occasional wulfenite association. A subset of specimens now in circulation were originally labeled cuprian adamite before electron microprobe analysis clarified their true composition—provenance documentation matters considerably for this species. The mine's closure in 1996 fixed supply absolutely, and zincolivenite has received growing attention as collectors working through Tsumeb's secondary mineral suite recognize it as among the more chemically nuanced species the deposit produced.