[2][3] It is a member of the kaolinite-serpentine mineral group and occurs as an oxidation product of zinc deposits.

It occurs with smithsonite, gebhardite, willemite, cerussite and sauconite.

[2] It was first described in 1927 for an occurrence in Vieille Montagne, Verviers, Liège Province, Belgium.

[4] In addition to the type locality in Belgium, it has been reported from Tsumeb, Namibia; Laurium, Greece; Swaledale, North Yorkshire, England; 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.

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