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Entry № 223

Green Smithsonite

Zinc Carbonate (var. Green)

A soft green zinc carbonate that holds a gentle lunar luster.

Chakra

Heart · Solar Plexus

Element

Earth

Zodiac

Virgo · Capricorn

Green Smithsonite

I. The Metaphysical Reading

How the stone has been held.

Green smithsonite is worked with as a stone of emotional soothing, placed in spaces where anxiety needs to be absorbed rather than analysed. Practitioners hold that it carries a lunar, yin quality that settles the stomach and the heart.

Chakra
Heart · Solar Plexus
Element
Earth
Zodiac
Virgo · Capricorn
Keynote
A soft green zinc carbonate that holds a gentle lunar luster.

II. The Scientific Reading

What the lattice actually does.

Smithsonite is zinc carbonate, a secondary mineral that forms in the oxidised zone of zinc ore deposits. It is dimorphous with hemimorphite and was named for James Smithson, founder of the Smithsonian. Green smithsonite owes its colour to trace copper or nickel substituting into the zinc site. It is prized by collectors for its botryoidal forms and pearly lustre, but is too soft for jewellery.

Formula
ZnCO₃
System
Trigonal
Hardness
4 – 4.5 (Mohs)
Provenance
Namibia, Australia, Mexico, Greece (Laurium)

References & Sources

Independent mineralogical references used to verify the scientific details above.

Mineral Profile

Fact Sheet

Chemical Formula
ZnCO₃
Crystal System
Trigonal
Mohs Hardness
4 – 4.5 (Mohs)
Density
4.30 – 4.45 g/cm³
Refractive Index
1.621 – 1.849
Provenance
Namibia, Australia, Mexico, Greece (Laurium)
Color Origin
Pale green to apple green from trace copper or nickel

Related Crystals

Stones that share this lattice

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Next in the Atlas

Green Tanzurine

Tanzanian aventurine — a green field of starlight.