Ordóñezite is a rare tetragonal zinc

Zinc

Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...

 antimonate mineral

Antimonate mineral

Antimonate minerals are those minerals containing the antimonate anion group. Both the Dana and the Strunz mineral classifications place the antimonates in with the phosphate minerals....

 with chemical formula: ZnSb₂O₆.

Discovery

Ordóñezite was first discovered and documented by Ezequiel Ordóñez (1867-1950), a Mexican geologist

Geologist

A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...

, formerly director of the Geological Institute of Mexico.
It was first described in 1953 for an occurrence with cassiterite

Cassiterite

Cassiterite is a tin oxide mineral, SnO2. It is generally opaque, but it is translucent in thin crystals. Its luster and multiple crystal faces produce a desirable gem...

 in veins

Vein (geology)

In geology, a vein is a distinct sheetlike body of crystallized minerals within a rock. Veins form when mineral constituents carried by an aqueous solution within the rock mass are deposited through precipitation...

 in rhyolite

Rhyolite

This page is about a volcanic rock. For the ghost town see Rhyolite, Nevada, and for the satellite system, see Rhyolite/Aquacade.Rhyolite is an igneous, volcanic rock, of felsic composition . It may have any texture from glassy to aphanitic to porphyritic...

 in the Santín mine which is located about eight kilometres from Santa Catarina, Guanajuato

Santa Catarina, Guanajuato

Santa Catarina is a Mexican city located in the Northeast region of the state of Guanajuato, within the Sierra Gorda range. The municipality has an area of 193.67 square kilometres and is bordered to the north by Victoria and Xichú, to the east by the state of Querétaro, to the south by Tierra...

, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. Another locality is El Antimonio, 27 km southwest of Agua Prieta

Agua Prieta

Agua Prieta is a pueblo and municipality in the northeastern corner of the Mexican state of Sonora . It stands on the U.S.–Mexico border, adjacent to the town of Douglas, Arizona, USA. The municipality covers an area of 3,631.65 km²...

, Sonora

Sonora

Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....

, Mexico.

Properties

Optical properties include: semitransparent, very light to very dark colorless to pearl-gray, light yellowish olive to dark olive.