Home > Phosphate Minerals – July 11 > MS1394 Hopeite with Pyromorphite

Hopeite with Pyromorphite - Sold


Hopeite is a hydrous zinc phosphate, originally described from Belgium (Brewster, 1826). The mineral name honors Thomas Charles Hope (1766–1844), professor at the University of Edinburgh. The mineral remained an esoteric rarity until Spencer (1908) reported its second occurrence at Broken Hill. In the March-April 2019 issue of Rocks and Mineral Magazine, Southwood et al. (2019) provide a modern review of Broken Hill mineralogy.

This specimen consists of limestone matrix covered in botryoidal hemimorphite, later coated by green pyromorphite and finally hopeite. The hopeite crystals reach 6 mm on this piece, and have the faintest of yellow coloration. There is some bruising to one side of the specimen, and it could be trimmed into a 7 x 4 cm specimen free of damage. We leave this choice to the final customer.