Home > Skorpion, Broken Hill, Salmo – July 24 > MS1372 Spencerite

Spencerite - Sold


Spencerite is a zinc phosphate mineral, originally described from this locality by Walker (1916). The mineral name honors L. J. Spencer (1870-1959), British mineralogist and former Keeper of Minerals at the Natural History Museum (London).

This specimen is confused mass of foliated spencerite. The spencerite crystals (4-6 mm) arrange themselves into stacks along a crystal direction with pearly luster; they are curved and tightly grouped. A hollow tube of hemimorphite spans the length of the specimen. This piece likely originates from a cavern of rich zinc ore described by Walker (1918). A good example of spencerite, which commonly does not show outward crystal form. This specimen was part of the personal collection of Joe Cilen (1916-1997), a well known collector from New Jersey. Cilen's label and an earlier label from the Thurston's (Boylston, MA) accompany the specimen.