Smithsonite (J-170)

specimen number:
9273120

location:
Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia

description:
Classic Australian specimen consisting of a grouping of stalactitic coronadite, this hosting pearly colorless translucent crystals of smithsonite to 0.4 cm in size throughout. In super condition all around.

The Broken Hill mining district, located in the far west of New South Wales, Australia, is home to one of the largest and most famous silver-lead-zinc deposits in the world. Geologically, the deposit is a massive, stratiform, metamorphosed volcanic-associated massive sulfide (VMS) body hosted within the Paleoproterozoic metamorphic rocks of the Willyama Supergroup, formed roughly 1.7 billion years ago. The structural architecture consists of a highly folded, boomerang-shaped lode characterized by dense accumulations of galena, sphalerite, and a spectacular suite of secondary minerals in its oxidized upper zones. The historical timeline of the district began in September 1883 when boundary rider Charles Rasp discovered gossan outcrops on a distinctive rocky ridge, leading to the formation of the Broken Hill Proprietary Company (BHP) in 1885. Commercial extraction exploded rapidly, turning the isolated outback settlement into a major industrial center that drove Australia's economic modernization throughout the 20th century. Underground and open-cut operations have run continuously for more than 140 years, with major historical shafts progressively consolidating over the decades under various multinational companies, and mechanized deep-shaft extraction continues to actively target the remaining ore bodies well into the 2020s.

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