| Iin 1546 Georgius Agricola reported about a white metal which is fused to the Rammelsberg lead and silver melter and that you could scrape off. He called this metal "contrefey", because it could imitate gold. Agricola did not recognize that this metal was zinc. He further observed that a similar met ... moreIin 1546 Georgius Agricola reported about a white metal which is fused to the Rammelsberg lead and silver melter and that you could scrape off. He called this metal "contrefey", because it could imitate gold. Agricola did not recognize that this metal was zinc. He further observed that a similar metal, which he named from some unknown reasons "ZINCUM" arose under similar circumstances in Silesia during smelting. |
| Who first discovered the mineral cerussite and where it was first found remains in the darkness of history. However, to give it a name, the first mention is attributed to the Renaissance scholar Conrad Gesner - which does not mean, however, that he discovered or first described the mineral. (Gesner ... moreWho first discovered the mineral cerussite and where it was first found remains in the darkness of history. However, to give it a name, the first mention is attributed to the Renaissance scholar Conrad Gesner - which does not mean, however, that he discovered or first described the mineral. (Gesner (1516 to 1565) is considered the most famous and important naturalist and scholar of Switzerland)..... A mineral portrait of our unfortunately deceased friend Peter Seroka |