Smithsonite- Broken Hill Mine, Kabwe, Central Province, Zambia

Smithsonite
Original Tag: Broken Hill, Rhodesia (current day Zambia)
Today: Broken Hill Mine, Kabwe, Central Province, Zambia
Dimensions: 4.6 x 3.3 x 1.9 cm

This is a lovely vintage smithsonite specimen from Broken Hill, Rhodesia, the locality now known as Kabwe, Zambia. The old collection label is an important part of the piece: “Broken Hill, Rhodesia” preserves the historical locality terminology under which specimens from the deposit circulated through older mineral collections.

The smithsonite forms a thick, curved section with pronounced concentric growth banding, ranging from translucent ivory and pale cream through warm honey, beige, and soft reddish-brown. In transmitted light, the interior has a particularly attractive silky translucency, and the closely spaced bands follow the sweeping contour of the mineralization. Fine fibrous to radiating structure is visible within portions of the growth layers, giving the cut/broken face an almost satin-like appearance.

Broken Hill is a classic African lead-zinc locality, historically important for its oxidized-zone mineral assemblages. Smithsonite, a zinc carbonate (ZnCO₃), occurs there as a secondary mineral produced through alteration of primary zinc-bearing ores. Older examples carrying the Rhodesian locality designation have additional appeal as historical mineral specimens, particularly when their original labels have survived.

This piece retains an aged original collection label, identifying it as Smithsonite, Broken Hill, Rhodesia, with an earlier catalog number apparently replaced by 363.