Mimetite

Tsumeb Mine (Ongopolo Mine), Tsumeb, Oshikoto Region, Namibia

Several tufts of honey-yellow Mimetite crystals sit in a cavity left behind by an earlier crystal that has since dissolved. Each tuft is built from many small, lustrous crystals, and the group stands out vividly against the pink crystalline crust around it. The earlier mineral can no longer be named with certainty, but it has left its mark. On the upper part of the druse, stacked lamellae form a pattern that recalls the ridges of a seashell. Tsumeb is widely regarded as the world’s finest locality for Mimetite, best known for the gem prisms of the famous 1971 Gem Pocket. This piece shows a different side of the species: a thumbnail, but one with a layered structure that reveals more at every angle. Photo: Matthew Parshchikov