Cerussite with Malachite after Azurite

specimen number:
1052530

location:
Tsumeb Mine, Otjikoto, Namibia

description:
Twinned lustrous crystals of cerussite measuring to almost 1.5 cm in size across the top of a malachite crystal matrix with minor azurite. Slight damage present, this still in good condition. The specimen comes with an antique label as shown at the end of the video and the piece dates to the very early days of mining at this famous locality.

The Tsumeb Mine, located in the Oshikoto Region of northern Namibia, is widely considered the most significant mineral locality in the world. Geologically, the deposit is a massive hydrothermal pipe-like structure that penetrates through a thick sequence of Neoproterozoic carbonate rocks belonging to the Otavi Group. This pipe, which extends over 1400 meters deep, was formed by the collapse of a prehistoric cave system that was subsequently filled with polymetallic mineralizing fluids rich in copper, lead, zinc, and silver. Historically, the outcrop was known to local tribes for centuries, but industrial mining began in 1907 under the South West Africa Company. The mine operated for nearly nine decades before closing in 1996, producing an incredible array of over 300 different mineral species, many of which are found nowhere else on Earth.

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