Home > Type Localities I – July 8 > MS0729 Skorpionite

Skorpionite - Sold


This specimen comes from the Skorpion mine in Namibia, one of the world's largest zinc mines. The locality is unusual in its ore mineralogy, mostly zinc clays fraipontite and sauconite. Within pockets of recrystallization, rare tarbuttite, and more common hemimorphite form. Skorpionite here forms silky white needles to 1 mm, on blocky hemimorphite crystals to 1 mm. Krause et al. (2008) originally described skorpionite as a complex calcium zinc phosphate carbonate, naming it after this type and currently only known locality. This material is no longer available as miners caught collecting at the Skorpion mine are immediately dismissed. A nice piece, covered with sparkling needles.