Home > Type Localities II – August 5 > MS1618 Zincite

Zincite - Sold


Zincite is simple zinc oxide, and its name reflects its chemistry. Zincite is among the first mineral species described from the United States. In 1810, Archibald Bruce first described the mineral as red oxide of zinc in his The American Mineralogical Journal. Decades later, Haidinger (1845) in his Handbuch der Bestimmenden Mineralogie renamed the species. Some estimates suggest that zincite comprised up to 1% of the orebody at Franklin.

Red crystalline zincite formed here in massive franklinite with minor willemite. There is one flat crystal face, 1.9 by 1.4 cm, showing on this specimen. Crystals of zincite are extremely rare, and partial crystals like this example are quite collectible. This specimen was part of the Charles Trantham (1936-2020) estate. A label from Al McGuinness (1926-1990) accompanies this specimen.