Dolomite

Dolomite is ubiquitous throughout the Tsumeb mine due to the nature of the country rock and its paleo-karst system, and hence occurs in a wide variety of colours, habits, and morphologies.  This quite amazing specimen forms as nested spherical shell-like casts mimicking what was probably underlying botryoidal smithsonite which, at some later stage in the orebody’s evolution, was dissolved away leaving only void space.  The Dolomite forms bubble-like spheres to about 6.5 cm diameter with micro-crystallised surfaces of buttery clotted-cream, blushed delicate pale pink in places.  A beautiful and rare specimen of this remarkable habit of Dolomite from Tsumeb.