Hemimorphite, is a sorosilicate mineral which has been chiefly associated with Smithsonite (zinc spar or Zinc carbonate ) a mineral of Zinc. They were assumed to be the same mineral and were classified under calamine. In the second half of the 18th century it was discovered that there were two different minerals. One was a zinc carbonate and the other a zinc silicate.

The silicate was the rarer of the two, and was named hemimorphite, because of the hemimorph development of its crystals. In this unusual form the crystals terminated in dissimilar faces. They show strong green fluorescence in shortwave UV light and a weak light pink fluorescence in long wave UV. Hemimorphite is an important ore of zinc and contains up to 54.2% of the metal.

Hemimorphite occurs in Belgium German border, Poland, Pennsylvania, Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, North Africa, Thailand, Siberia, Italy, Austria and England.