Smithsonite

This nicely crystallised small miniature Smithsonite from the Broken Hill mining district in New South Wales, Australia, displays two generations of crystal growth, a habit infrequently seen in specimens from this most famous of localities.  Composed entirely of what is commonly termed ant egg or rice grain Smithsonite crystals of pale translucent grey, form a highly porous network of intergrown crystals.  These have been subjected to a second phase of crystallisation where tiny, spiky Smithsonites have overgrown the first generation giving a hedgehog appearance to each.  This specimen comes with a Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd (13 Seagrave Road, London) label.