Calamine is the common name of two zinc ores – one being a hydrous silicate also known as smithsonite, hemimorphite, or electric calamine; the other being the carbonate. Both occur frequently in veins which carry zinc blende, the commonest of the zinc ores. They are pale yellow, pink, brown, blue, green or colourless and are often mixed in a fine powder known to miners as ‘ dry bone’. Calamine is used in medicine as a skin soother to relieve rashes and other skin irritations.
No related terms.