Although mining operations have recently ceased, the Tsumeb Mine in Namibia is still regarded by collectors of fine minerals as perhaps the world’s most prolific mineral locality for its production of thousands of beautifully crystallized mineral specimens.
Among Tsumeb’s most famous bounty are the world’s finest specimens of lustrous, sharp, deep blue-black azurite crystals. Individual crystals to 25 cm length have been recorded, although most are 5 cm or less. With the possible exception of few recently discovered specimens from Morocco, Tsumeb azurites are unequalled for crystal perfection, the best of which occur as translucent, cobalt-blue crystals displaying razor-sharp edges and seemingly polished mirror bright crystal faces.
It is widely considered that the finest specimens were those recovered prior to 1910 and in the years following 1957 when a second oxide zone was encountered at a depth of 900 meters. The 1960s and 1970s Saw further discoveries of superb specimens. A pocket containing huge, blocky, monoclinic, prismatic azurite crystals, some partially altered to malachite, was found in 1984. Many of these specimens exhibited electric-blue faces caused by late-stage overgrowths of second-generation azurite over malachite. While distinctly different in appearance from earlier major finds, the 1984 pocket yielded impressive matrix specimens, which reaffirmed the Tsumeb Mine’s reputation for producing the finest known examples of azurite.
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Smithsonite ps. after Azurite with Mimetite
Tsumeb Mine (west 20 stope, 29 level), Tsumeb, Namibia
