calamine (natural mineral admixture)

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Scope note
A natural admixture mineral of zinc carbonate and hydrous zinc silicate. Because the two ores are very similar and often occur together, the name calamine was given to the mixture but also incorrectly used for the separate minerals. To differentiate the minerals, they were given new names of smithsonite (zinc carbonate) and hemimorphite (hydrous zinc silicate). The name was derived from the place name La Calamine (Kelmis), Belgium.
calamine
Accepted term: 29-Apr-2024