How do I identify Zemannite?

Zemannite can be identified by its Brown color. Look for these key characteristics when examining specimens.

What color is Zemannite?

Zemannite typically appears in Brown. Color can vary depending on impurities and formation conditions.

Zemannite

What is Zemannite?

Zemannite is a very rare oxide mineral with the chemical formula Mg0.5ZnFe[TeO3]3·4.5H2O. It crystallizes in the hexagonal crystal system and forms small prismatic brown crystals. Because of the rarity and small crystal size, zemannite has no applications and serves as a collector's item.

Etymology & Origins

Zemannite was discovered in 1961 in a tellurium deposit near Moctezuma, Sonora, Mexico as an unnamed new mineral. It was not accepted then by the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) due to the uncertainty in its chemical composition. The mineral structure was solved in 1967 by Eckhart Matzat as (Na,H)2(Zn,Fe)(Mn,Mg)2[TeO3]3·nH2O is specified. Two years later, the mineral was recognized by the IMA under the name zemannite, in honor of the Austrian mineralogist Josef Zemann (born 1923), who had worked extensively on tellurium minerals. Later investigations showed that zemannite, as well as the related mineral kinichilit, often contains impurities of sodium and magnesium and thus the formula was refined to its current form, Mg0.5ZnFe[TeO3]3·4.5H2O.