Mineral: Leiteite and Legrandite
Locality: Tsumeb Mine, level 44 (zinc pocket), Tsumeb, Otjikoto Region, Namibia
Dimensions: 5 x 4.5 x 4.5 cm / main crystal: 4.2 cm.
Description: Mass: 137 g
MIM number:2152
Translucent leiteite composed of stacked quadratic crystals of nacreous appearance on a black granular matrix. Orange legrandite crystals (the largest measuring 0.7 cm) have grown on some sides of the leiteite, adding to the contrast of the sample. Legrandite (an arsenate) is rare in Tsumeb, and it is even rarer to see it associated with leiteite (an arsenite), as both species result from two different oxidation states of arsenic.
Photographer: Malte Sickinger
Publication: "Tsumeb II"
Ex collection: Georg Gebhard (Germany)
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