Dirty white crystal aggregates of the very rare Mn sulphate mineral szmikite from Yukon (Galena Hill, Mayo, Yukon, Canada). Ex Vandenbroucke Museum collection from Waregem, Belgium. — Photo: David Hospital · CC BY-SA 4.0
Szmikite
Szmikite is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the sulfate class, with the chemical formula Mn(SO₄)·H₂O.
It crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system (space group C2/c). It is a member of the Kieserite structural group.
Key properties: Mohs hardness 1.5; specific gravity 3.15; optically biaxial.
IMA symbol Szm, grandfathered status — known before the IMA’s founding, named in 1877.
A rare post-mining incrustation.
It is found associated with Jokokuite (Jokoku mine, Japan).
The mineral was named to honor Ignaz Nathaniel Szmik (1815–1881), Hungarian mining official at Felsőbánya, Hungary (now Baia Sprie, Romania), who discovered the mineral.