Fraipontite

Fraipontite is a zinc silicate mineral with a formula of (Zn,Al) 3(Si,Al) 2O 5(OH) 4.

It is a member of the kaolinite mineral group and occurs as an oxidation product of zinc deposits. It occurs with smithsonite , willemite

It was first described in 1927 for an occurrence in Vieille Montagne, Verviers It was named for Julien Jean Joseph de Fraipont (1857–1910), and Charles de Fraipont, geologists of Liege, Belgium. In addition to the type locality in Belgium, it has been reported from Tsumeb ; Swaledale, North Yorkshire; the Silver Bill mine, Cochise County, Arizona , the Blanchard Mine, Socorro County, New Mexico and the Mohawk mine, San Bernardino County, California in the US; and from the Ojuela mine, Mapimi, Durango , Mexico

A synonym of the fraipontite is the zinalsite, which was reported in 1956 for an occurrence in Kazakhstan