CMU Home

Mineral Collection Images

  Robotics Home

My Mineral Collection, Lead Minerals Page

This is my lead mineral collection. This is one of my larger pages - there are so many lead minerals, especially the sulfosalts, and so many color varieties!
Lead Minerals on Other Pages
Betekhtinite is on my copper minerals page.

Hedyphane is on my systematic inosilicates page.

Perite is on my systematic oxides page.

There are a few lead minerals on my systematic sulfides page; aikinite, cosalite, galenobismutite, gustavite, and pekoite. I've put them there because the other metals are present in greater proportion.

Plumbojarosite is on my systematic Sulfates page.

Specimens on This Page
(links take you to either the first or only specimen)

94 Rows

Alamosite

A small minaiture of tiny colorless fransparent crystals (larger image, center) of alamosite (lead metasilicate) on matrix from the Rawhide Mine, Artillery Mountains, Maricopa County, Arizona. Alamosite has a unique 12-chain structure. Synthetic alamosite is used as a fabric flame-retardant and ceramic glaze.

Thanks to Ingo Drescher's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Altaite

A micromout of massive altaite (lead telluride) from the Mattagami Lake Mines, Galinee Township, Abitibi County, Québec, Canada. There's probably submicroscopic inclusions of mattagamite and tellurantimony. It forms incomplete series with clausthalite and galena, its selenide and sulfide analogs.

Thanks to Chris Auer's (Eureka Micromounts) auction on eBay for the specimen!

Andorite

A stack of thin tabular andorite crystals comprise this thumbnail from the San Jose Mine in Oruro, Bolivia. Andorite is a lead silver antimony sulfosalt and is named after the Hungarian patron Andor von Semsey. Because he gave vast financial assistance to the Mineral Collection of the Hungarian National Museum, Professor Joseph Krenner named andorite and semseyite after him as a mark of his great respect. Andorite, especially Bolivian andorite, is now more properly called andorite-IV to differentiate it from the rarer andorite-VI.

Thanks to Mike Keim at Marin Minerals for the specimen and the image!

Thanks also to Ildikó Vég for the Andor von Semsey information!

Row 2

Andorite-IV

An excellent cluster of bluish-gray andorite-IV crystals on an andorite-coated pyrite crystal, also from the San Jose Mine. Andorite-IV is also called quatrandorite.

Thanks to Brian Kosnar's (Mineral Classics) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Andorite-VI

An excellent micro of the other andorite, andorite-VI (also called senandorite) from Les Borderies, Cantel, France.

Thanks to Brad Hilken's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Anglesite

A nice light-yellow thumbnail cluster of anglesite (lead sulfate) crystals from famous Broken Hill, Yancowinna County, New South Wales, Australia.

Thanks to Mike Keim at Marin Minerals for the specimen and the images!

Row 3

Anglesite

A miniature of colorless anglesite crystals with galena on matrix, probably from Touissit, Oujda-Angad Province, Oriental Region, Morocco. I also have a miniature of a single anglesite crystal with galena on matrix from the same (Marvin Schwalb) collection.

Thanks to Marvin Schwalb's auction on eBay for the specimens!

Ardaite

Once known as chlorine-falkmanite, this excellent micro of massive ardaite (a lead antimony chloride sulfide) comes from the Gruvåsens mines, Persberg district, Filipstad, Värmland, Sweden. Ardaite from this locale often contains up tp 1.65% iron while the type locality material often contains a trace of silver.

Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Arsendescloizite

A beautiful large thumbnail of green botryoidal arsendescloizite (lead zinc hydroxyarsenate and the arsenate analog of descloizite) and epitaxial microcalcite from the Ojuela Mine, Mapimi, Durango, Mexico.

Thanks to John Sobolewski's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Row 4

Arsentsumebite

A small miniature of light-green arsentsumebite (a rare lead copper basic sulfatoarsenate) crystals on a tan matrix from Broken Hill, Australia.

Thanks to Emilie & Ron Kendig's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Arsentsumebite

An excellent thumbnail of bright green arsentsumebite from the type locality of the Tsumcorp Tsumeb Mine, Tsumeb, Otjikoto Region, Namibia. There's also some (blue) azurite present.

Thanks to Micah Cline's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Artroeite

An excellent miniature of grayish-white radiating sheafs of artroeite (a lead (hydroxy) soro-alminofluoride) on a volcanic rock matrix from the Somma-Vesuvius Complex, Naples Province, Campania, Italy. It's structurally related to gearksutite.

Thanks to Tony Nikischer's Excalibur Mineral Company auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 5

Aschamalmite

A very fine miniature of silvery aschamalmite (a lead bismuth sulfosalt) massives in matrix from the Habach Valley, Salzburg, Austria (maybe from Upper Leckbachgraben, one valley over from the type locality). It may form a series with heyrovskyite where silver replaces some of the lead and bismuth.

Thanks to Bernard Kutil's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Ashburtonite

An excellent micro of beautiful blue crystals of ashburtonite (a complex hydrated lead copper bicarbonate cyclosilicate) on matrix from the type locality of Ashburton Downs Station, Ashburton Shire, Western Australia, Australia. Originally Victor Sapienza material. It's closely related to cerchiaraite and bobmeyerite.

Thanks to Jake Slagle's Maryland Minerals auction on eBay for the specimen and images!

Asisite

A small miniature of glassy orange asisite (a lead oxychloride with essential silicon for charge balancing) on matrix from the type and only locality of the now-closed Kombat Mine, Kombat, Grootfontein District, Otjozondjupa Region, Namibia. Ex: Phillips Collection with Scott Williams and Mikon Mineralienkontor dealer tags (larger image, bottom row).As shown on the tags, asisite from the Kombat mine has been sold as either "lorettoite" or "chubutite".

Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the images!

Row 6

Barysilite

A good miniature of pinkish-gray silky flakes of barysilite (a lead manganese sorosilicate) in matrix from the type locality of the Harstigen Mine, Pajsberg, Filipstad, Varmland, Sweden.

Thanks to Csanad Loranth's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Baumhauerite

Baumhauerite's another lead arsenosulfide - this small cabinet specimen of bronzy baumhauerite and red realgar is from the type locality of the Lengenbach Quarry, Binntal, Switzerland. Baumhauerite has a dimorph, Baumhauerite-2a, for which this is also the type locality - I can't tell if there's any present here. It has a Ward's tag.

Thanks to C. Carter Rich's table at the 2004 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen!

Bayldonite

Bayldonite's a lead copper hydroxyarsenate - this thumbnail comes from the Simon Mine at Cedar Mountain, Simon, Bell District, Mineral County, Nevada. The microspherules are a beautiful shade of green! Some references include a small amount of zinc replacing the ciopper. It's structurally analogous and forms an incomplete series with vesignieite where barium replaces lead and vanadate replaces arsenate.

Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the images!

Row 7

Bayldonite

This beautiful micro of sphericular bayldonite is from the type locality of the Penberthy Croft Mine, St. Hilary, Cornwall, England. Some of the spherules are translucent under strong lighting.

Thanks to Stephen Hernly's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Beaverite

Rare yellow beaverite (a lead iron copper aluminum hydroxysulfate) on matrix from Ochtiná, Eastern Slovenské Rudohorie Mts, Kosice Region, Slovak Republic. Beaverite's a member of the alunite-jarosite group. This thumbnail was collected in 2003.

Thanks to Colleen Thomson's Thomson Minerals auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Beudantite

An excellent miniature of hundreds of brown beudantite (a lead iron hydroxysulfatoarsenate) crystals on matrix from the Tsumeb Mine, Tsumeb, Otjikoto Region, Namibia. Ex: Walter Khan Collection. Beudantite forms a complete series with corkite, its phosphate analog, and partial series with both plumbojarosite and segnitite. Some beudantite may contain minor antimony (replacing the iron).

Thanks to Micah Cline's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Row 8

Bindheimite

An esthetic thumbnail of yellow-brown drusy bindheimite (lead antimony mixed oxide, formerly considered an antimonate) with an unidentified green mineral, maybe philipsburgite, on quartz from the Black Pine Mine, Granite County, Montana. Bindheimite is now named oxyplumboroméite and is a member of the roméite group.

Thanks to Val Collins' auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Bindheimite

A miniature of compacted, almost massive, bindheimite from Pershing County, Nevada. It looks a lot like the material from the Wamsley Mine in Mineral County, Nevada.

Thanks to Wright's Rock Shop's table at the 2004 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen!

Blixite

A miniature of pale grayish-yellow blixite (a lead oxyhydroxychloride) on hausmannite from the type locality of Langban, Filipstad, Varmland, Sweden.

Thanks to Sönke Stolze's Systematic-Minerals.com auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Row 9

Boléite

This intergrown crystal pair of boléite (a lead copper silver oxychloride) comes from the Amelia Mine in the type locality of Boléo, Santa Rosalía, Baja California Sur, Mexico. I apologize for the poor photo, boléite crystals are typically so small (this one's 3 mm on edge) that I just can't photograph it properly.

Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen!

Boléite

Once in a great while, a matrix specimen of boléite appears - this thumbnail's also from the Amelia Mine.

Thanks to Alexander Falster's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Boléite and
Penfieldite

This miniature of boléite and penfieldite, a very rare lead hydroxychloride, (larger image, right) on matrix is from the mid-2001 find at Sierra Gorda, Caracoles District, Antofagasta, Chile. Also, recent microprobe analyses of boléite have found that there's 0.36% potassium in its composition - the link under the image here reflects the change.

Thanks to John Veevaert at Trinity Minerals for the specimen!

Row 10

Boléite and
Penfieldite

Another boléite / penfieldite miniature - this on;es from the Margarita Mine, Sierra Gorda, near Antofagasta, Chile; my earlier specimen may be from the same locale.

Thanks to Anthony Jones' auction on eBay for the specimen!

Boulangerite

Boulangerite's another one of the many lead antimony sulfosalts - the hairs appear to be loosely attached to both tiny brilliant colorless cerussite and larger white quartz crystals. This miniature's from Chalcidice (Chalkidiki), Greece.

Thanks to Antonis Frangoudis's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Boulangerite

This thumbnail has short and very fine boulangerite fibers on a quartz, pyrite, and arsenopyrite matrix from the Noche Buena Mine, Maxipil Zacatacas, Mexico.

Thanks to Emilie & Ron Kendig's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 11

Boulangerite

A small plastic box of intergrown boulangerite needles from somewhere in Mexico. Ex: James F. Carryer collection.

Thanks to Bob Patak at Shadyside Mining for the specimen!

Bournonite

Bournonite (lead copper antimony sulfide) is often called "cogwheel ore" because of its multiply-twinned radiating crystals. In England it's called endellionite from Endellion in Cornwall (its type locality). This miniature (with manganocalcite and quartz) comes from the Pachapaqui Mine in Bolognesi Province, Ancash, Peru. Bournonite is sometimes used as an ore of lead (42.5%), copper, or antimony. It forms a complete series with seligmannite, where arsenic replaces the antimony, and an incomplete series with soucekite where bismuth replaces the antimony and selenium replaces some of the sulfur. There's often a small amount of tin present as well.

Thanks to Rick Green at Uniquely Crystalline for the specimen and the image!

Bournonite

An excellent miniature of bournonite (larger image, top right), anhydrite (larger image, bottom left), and drusy pyrite (larger image, bottom right) from the Naica Mine, Chihuahua, Mexico.

Thanks to Gloria's Minerals' table at the 2002 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen!

Row 12

Bournonite

A miniature of well-formed bournonite crystals with quartz and other minerals from Baia Sprie, Maramures County, Romania.

Thanks to Krzysztof Dembicz' Spirifer Minerals auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Bournonite,
var. Wölchite

An excellent small-cabinet specimen of wölchite (arsenian bournonite) from its type locality, Wölch, St Gertraud, Wolfsberg, Lavant valley, Carinthia, Austria. Wölchite is also the name given to altered bournonite (of any composition) and now is considered merely a synonym (though it could still be used for the midmembers of the bournonite-seligmannite series).

Thanks to Thomas Bee's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Brackebuschite

This type-locality micromount from the Venus Mine, El Gauico, Minas Department, Cordoba Province, Argentina has tiny brownish-black crystals of brackebuschite, a very rare hydrated lead orthovanadate (with a bit of manganese and iron) on matrix.

Thanks to Eduardo Jawerbaum's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Row 13

Brackebuschite

This thumbnail of brackbushite and yellow vanadinite is also from the Venus Mine and was collected in 1973.

Thanks to Steve & Susan Bringe's (Summit Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen!

Caledonite and
Linarite

Here's another small cabinet specimen from Tiger, Arizona - this time it's caledonite and linarite. Like linarite, caledonite is a copper and lead hydroxysulfate, but caledonite also has a carbonate anion.

Thanks to Adam Larson at Adam's Minerals for the specimen and the image!

Carminite

Bright red carminite (a lead iron hydroxyarsenate) needles on matrix in this micromount from Cap Garonne, France. It's dimorphous with mawbyite.

Thanks to Don Smoley's Minerals & Gems' table at the 2001 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen!

Row 14

Cechite

When iron and manganese substitute for the zinc in descloizite (or the copper in mottramite) it becomes cechite - it's very rare and only occurs in tiny black crystals (one's ENE of the arrow), as in this hematite and calcite micromount from the type locality of Vrancice, Pribram, Bohemia, Czech Republic.

Thanks to Tony Nikischer at the Excalibur Mineral Company for the specimen!

Cerussite

Cerussite (lead carbonate) is an important lead ore. The crystals, like calcite, are doubly refracting. The fluorescence of the cerussites is interesting - it's a bright yellow but seems to be in either the center or bottom of each crystal rather than uniformly distributed! This one, with its accompanying orange barites and resting on a massive galena layer backed by limonite, comes from Mibladen, Morocco.

Thanks to Rick Green at Uniquely Crystalline for the specimen and the image!

Cerussite on
Duftite

Clear twinned cerussite crystals abound on duftite, a lead copper hydroxyarsenate named for Mr. Duft (director of mines at Tsumeb), in this small cabinet specimen, which is also a Tsumeb Mine, Tsumeb, Otavi, Namibia type-locality mineral!

Thanks to Steve Carter at Penn Minerals for the specimen and the image!

Row 15

Cerussite

Another cerussite "druse" from Mibladen, Morocco - this miniature also has some salmon barite on the galena matrix. The larger picture shows a second specimen and closeup from the same location.

Thanks to Brian McManus at the Pebble Peddler for the specimens!

Cerussite

A very esthetic miniature of cerussite on salmon barite from Mibladen, Morocco.

Thanks to Walter Mroch's (The Gem and Mineral Exploration Company) auction for the specimen and the image!

Cerussite

Often, cerussite occurs as white "jackstraws", as in this miniature from the Flux Mine, Patagonia Mountains, Santa Cruz County, Arizona.

Row 16

Cerussite

Highly intergrown, complexly-faceted cerussite on orange barite miniature from Mibladen, Morocco - it fluoresces bright yellow under longwave UV (some zonal).

Cerussite

Light yellow reticulated ("bridge girder") cerussite with tiny orange wulfenites and yellow mimetites miniature from Tiger, Arizona.

Thanks to Kevin Shelton's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Cerussite

A beautiful cluster of twinned tan cerussite miniature from the Congo.

Row 17

Cerussite

A thumbnail of the popular reticulated cerussite clusters from the 2002 find at the Nakhlak Mine, Anarak District, Esfahan Province, Iran.

Thanks to Don Smoley's Minerals & Gems' table at the 2002 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen!

Cerussite

A very unusual and very rare cerussite miniature from Sonora, Mexico. Ex: John Betts, Joe Cilen (# 4961), and James Nelson (# 729) collections.

Thanks to Tom Klinepeter's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Cerussite

An excellent thumbnail of smoky cerussite from Tsumeb, Namibia. There's a few micro azurites attached.

Thanks to Anthony Jones' auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Row 18

Cerussite

Another Tsumeb cerussite - this excllent miniature cluster of sixlings varies in color and is from an old collection.

Thanks to Kelly Gillespie's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Cerussite

This miniature from Tsumeb has beautiful smoky (included) gemmy cerussite crystals and tiny duftite crystals (larger image, top right) on a calcite matrix.

Thanks to Debbie Woolf at Steiner's Rockshop's auction on eBay for the specimen and images!

Cerussite

Unlike the Australian chrome-cerussite, this beautiful cerussite miniature from the Daoping Mine, Yang Shao, Gui Lin, Guang Xi Province, China is colored green by a chrysocolla coating.

Thanks to Eric Greene's (Treasure Mountain Mining) auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 19

Cerussite, var.
Chrome-Cerussite

In some locales, crocoite is included in cerussite - it's called chrome-cerussite as in this small cabinet specimen from Dundas, Tasmania, Australia.

Thanks to Chris Korpi at Pangaea Minerals for the specimen!

Cerussite, var.
Chrome-Cerussite

A thumbnail of chrome-cerussite on limonite from (arguably) the type locality, the Magnet Mine, Magnet, Waratah district, Tasmania, Australia. Some references claim the the color is due to organic inclusions or radiation - the material warrants further study. [ GSA abstract ]

Thanks to Dave Harris' auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Cesarolite

An excellent thumbnail of cesarolite (a lead manganese oxide) on yellow-fluorescing calcite from the type locality of Sidi-amor-ben-Salaam, Al Kaf, Tunisia.

Thanks to Tony Nikischer at the Excalibur Mineral Company for the specimen!

Row 20

Chloroxiphite

Deep-green fragments of chloroxiphite (a lead copper mixed oxy / hydroxy chloride) appear in the cracks of this micro from Churchill, Mendip Hills, Somerset, England.

Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Clausthalite

A classic miniature of gray clausthalite (lead selenide) in dolomite from the Schlema-Hartenstein District, Erzgebirge, Saxony, Germany. A complete series exists between clausthalite and galena, its sulfide analog. It has a Southwest Scientific (Sedona, AZ) tag #4355, $3.50 and is Ex: Urban Collection 16 Dec 1966 $5.

Thanks to Tony Nikischer at the Excalibur Mineral Company for the specimen!

Corkite &
Hinsdalite

An excellent miniature of two lead minerals; green corkite (lead ferric hydoxysulfatophosphate) and brown hinsdalite (lead aluminum strontium hydoxysulfatophosphate) on matrix from the Bergmannstrost Mine, Bad Ems, Lahn valley, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The two minerals form a complete series and corkite froms two more complete series; one with kintoreite and one with beudantite where arsenate replaces phosphate.

Thanks to Michael Conroy's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Row 21

Creaseyite

Light-green coating of creaseyite (a hydrated lead copper iron aluminum silicate) on matrix (miniature) from Cananea 10, Santa Ana, Sonora, Mexico.

Thanks to Ingo Drescher's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Crocoite

A miniature cluster of interlocked crocoite (lead chromate) from the famous Adelaide Mine, Dundas, Tasmania.

Thanks to Rick Green at Uniquely Crystalline for the specimen and the image!

Crocoite

Tiny (but bright!) crocoites share the quartz matrix with tiny pyrites in this beautiful miniature combination of colors and crystals, almost certainly from the Beresov District, near Ekaterinburg (Sverdlovsk), Ural Mountains, Russia. It may even be a type-locality specimen.

Thanks to Joana Pomenta's auction on eBay for the specimen!
Also, thanks to Rick Turner for the location info!

Row 22

Crocoite

A beautiful lustrous 35mm crystal of crocoite from the famous Red Lead Mine in the Zeehan-Dundas region of Tasmania, Australia.

Thanks to Mike Giammatteo's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Crocoite

An esthetic miniature of a crocoite spray on gossan matrix also from the Red Lead Mine - these are rapidly becoming scarce!

Thanks to Tony Smith's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Crocoite

This miniature of brilliant red crocoite and brown vauquelinite (a lead copper hydroxyphosphatochromate) is from the type locality for both minerals, the Tsvetnoi Mine, Berezovskoye Au Deposit (Berezovsk Mines), Berezovskii, Ekaterinberg, Urals Region, Russia.

Thanks to Dave Hayward at Lucky Strike Minerals for the specimen!

Row 23

Cumengite

Tiny deep-blue crystals of cumengite (a hydrated lead copper hydroxychloride) on a micromount matrix from the type locality of Santa Rosalia, Baja California, Mexico. Cumengite (or cumengeite) forms incomplete series with both boléite and pseudoboléite.

Thanks to Steve & Susan Bringe's (Summit Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen!

Cumengite

From the Amelia Mine in Santa Rosalia, Baja California, Mexico comes this beautiful combination crystal of cumengite pyramids epitaxially overgrown on boléite. These are very rare, especially as complete sixlings. There's a small amount of green paratacamite present.

Thanks to Frank Alicea III's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Cumengite

Another Amelia Mine cumengite sixling.

Thanks to Ibrahim Jameel at Khyber Minerals for the specimen and the images!

Row 24

Cylindrite

The only mineral with a consistently curved habit in easily visible crystals, this miniature of cylindrite, a lead iron tin antimony sulfide, comes from Poopó, Oruro, Bolivia. Chlorite and serpentine can also form cylindrical crystals but only at the microscopic level.

Thanks to Mike Keim at Marin Minerals for the specimen and the image!

Descloizite

Descloizite, a lead zinc copper hydroxyvanadate, often occurs with (and on) vanadinite. Here on this small cabinet specimen, though, in these dark brown with translucent to transparent dark-yellow-tipped spears, it occurs alone. The Berg Aukas mines, Grootfontein, Otavi, Namibia, Africa descloizites are among the best, according to Fred Pough's Rocks and Minerals.

Thanks to Henry Truebe's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Descloizite

The descloizite in this miniature from the Greyhorse Mine (Gray Horse), Pinal County, Arizona occurs on pseudomorphed (white hexagonal) vanadinite crystals. The closeup shows their beautiful orange-brown color. There are a few normal vanadinites at the front and back.

Thanks to Frank Yolton's auction on eBay for the specimen and full image!

Row 25

Descloizite with
Vanadinite

This is a very sparkly small cabinet specimen from Minas Ahumado, Los Lamentos, Chihuahua, Mexico. It appears to have started with vanadinite on the bottom with endlichite "spikes" covered with a combination of descloizite and mottramite. It's really pretty under a loupe!

Thanks to Richard Dale's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Descloizite on
Wulfenite

Beautiful tiny dark orange descloizite crystals coat wulfenite in this miniature from the Mammoth Mine in Pinal County, Arizona.

Thanks to Michael Cottingham's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Descloizite

A beautiful small cabinet specimen of yellow descloizite rosettes on matrix from Zacatecas, Mexico. Ex: Sample's Minerals of Stockton, California.

Thanks to Wayne & Tarissa Bloechl's (GeoJoe's Rock & Mineral Shop) auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 26

Descloizite

A classic "spear tip" descloizite thumbnail from Berg Aukas. Ex: Bill Basbagill Collection.

Thanks to the H M & D Minerals' table at the 2003 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen!

Descloizite,
var. Psittacinite

When descloizite occurs in parrot-green botryoidal masses, it's called psittacinite - this miniature's from the Otavi District in Namibia.

Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the images!

Diaboléite

A miniature of light blue diaboléite (a lead copper hydroxychloride) with massive malachite on matrix from the old Apache Mine, Hachita, Grant County, New Mexico.

Thanks to Emilie & Ron Kendig's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 27

Diaphorite

An excellent miniature of diaphorite (a lead silver antimony sulfosalt) in matrix from the Morey Mine in Ney County, Nevada.

Thanks to Carol Crabtree's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Dufrénoysite

A thumbnail of lustrous dark-gray dufrénoysite (lead arsenic sulfide) on realgar, orpiment, and quartz from the type locality of the famous Lengenbach Mine, Binntal, Switzerland.

Thanks to Isaias Casanova at IC Minerals for the specimen and the images!

Duftite

An old small cabinet specimen of gray duftite coated with tiny transparent calcite rhombs from the Tsumeb Mine, Otjikoto Region, Namibia.

Thanks to Eric Greene's (Treasure Mountain Mining) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Row 28

Dundasite

A nice miniature of white dundasite (a hydrated lead aluminum hydroxycarbonate) on matrix from the unusual locale of the Pentire Glaze Mine, Polzeath, Cornwall, United Kingdom.

Thanks to Thomas Bee's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Ecdemite on
Wulfenite and Mimetite

The yellow powdery coating on the wulfenite and mimetite on this cabinet specimen from the Rowley Mine in Theba, Maricopa County, Arizona is ecdemite, a lead arsenic oxychloride. Both ecdemite and heliophyllite warrant further study, as their identical formulas imply polymorphism.

Thanks to Nora Carman's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Elyite

An excellent large micro of purple elyite (a hydrated lead copper oxyhydroxysulfate) coating the matrix from the Herzog Julius smelter slag locality, Astfeld, Goslar, Harz, Lower Saxony, GermanyEx: Polak Collection. One of the very few purple lead-dominant minerals!

Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the image!

Row 29

Embreyite

A pretty miniature of orange-red embreyite (hydrated lead chromatophosphate) crystals on matrix from Callenberg, Saxony, Germany. Embreyite forms an incomplete series with cassedanneite, its (ortho)vanadate analog.

Thanks to Bernhard Kutil's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Fiedlerite

A one-millimeter crystal (larger image, right) of whitish fiedlerite (a hydrated lead hydroxyfluorochloride) on matrix with white anglesite from the type localities of the Lavrion District slag localities, Lavrion District, Attikí Prefecture, Greece - (actually from Legrena Cove).

Thanks to Kristen Burgess' auction on eBay for the specimen!

Fizélyite

This thumbnail of fizélyite (named after Hungarian mining engineer Sándor Fizély), another lead silver antimony sulfide, in matrix with pyrite is from the Van Silver Claim, near Whisler, Brandywine Creek, British Columbia, Canada.

Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the images!

Thanks also to Ildikó Vég for the Sándor Fizély link!

Row 30

Fluorphosphohedyphane

A large micro of glassy whitish fluorphosphohedyphane (lead calcium fluorophosphate) clusters on matrix from the Blue Bell claims, Baker, Soda Lake Mts, San Bernardino County, California. It's the fluorine analog of phosphohedyphane and is a member of the hedyphane group and the apatite supergroup.

Thanks to Stefano Broetto's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Fornacite

Fornacite's a rare lead copper hydroxy chromatoarsenate that comes in various shades of green - this thumbnail from the Eagle Eye Mine, New Water Mountains, La Paz County, Arizona is a beautiful bluish green. It forms incomplete series with molybdofornacite and vauquelinite, its molybdo and phosphato arsenate analogs respectively.

Thanks to Adam Larson's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Franckeite

Franckeite is a rare lead tin antimony sulfide - this toenail's from Carguaicollo, Quijarro Province, Potosi Department, Bolivia.

Thanks to Richard Dale's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 31

Freieslebenite

A micromount of gray needles of freieslebenite (a lead silver thioantimonide) on matrix from Dossena, Bergamo Province, Italy. It forms incomplete series with marrite, its thioarsenide analog (and some references), laffittite.

Thanks to Chris Auer's (Eureka Micromounts) auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Galena

A crust of crystalline galena along with a little pyrite, calcite, sphalerite, and a few small fluorites. Some of the galena on this small cabinet specimen has a blue tarnish. This one was very difficult to photograph - too much sparkle! Galena forms a series with clausthalite, its selenide analog.

Galena

This large cabinet specimen has galena on a marcasite and pink dolomite (on the back) matrix from Joplin, Missouri - one of the best localities for this particular mineral association.

Row 32

Galena

This is a thumbnail of massive galena with mint green crusts on two sides, one of which has a couple of millimeter-sized linarite (I think) crystals! The faces of the galena crystals are curved which often means that there's silver as an impurity.

Galena

This is a beautiful Brazilian cabinet specimen of highly lustrous granular galena preferentially coated with tiny dogtooth spar calcite. There's also pyrite randomly scattered about.

Galena on
Pyrite

This is a stunning large specimen (15 cm long) of lustrous octahedral galena on pyrite from Peru - there's also some white anglesite crystals on the galena.

Row 33

Galena

Shiny silver galena miniature with quartz crystals from Bulgaria.

Thanks to Antonis Frangoudis' auction on eBay for the specimen!

Galena

A large cabinet ball of galena cubes from Picher, Ottawa County, Oklahoma. There's also some chalcopyrite and orange to red sphalerites scattered here and there.

Thanks to Olympic Mountain Gems, Inc. for the specimen!

Galena

This galena thumbnail dusted with micro pyrite is from the Tri-State District near Joplin, Jasper County, Missouri.

Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen!

Row 34

Galena

Galena crystals like this miniature from the Tri-State District, Joplin, Missouri are called "cityscapes".

Thanks to Stan Perry's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Galena and
Pyrite

A flashy miniature of galena with pyrite comes from the 5080 ore body at Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico.

Thanks to David Smith's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Galena

A beautiful mirror-finish miniature of galena octahedrons with chalcopyrite, pyrite, sphalerite, and quartz from the Madan Ore Fields, Plovdiv District, Bulgaria. This miniature was very hard to photograph!

Thanks to Darrel Merke's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Row 35

Galena with
Calcite

A beautiful miniature cluster of octahedral and cubic galena (with a little chalcopyrite) frosted with calcite from Naica, Mexico.

Thanks to Donna Lee Hanlon's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Quartz on
Galena

A beautiful miniature of quartz-covered silver-bearing galena from Bulgaria. The galena faces are strongly curved which usually indicates a high silver content. There's also a few dark yellow, translucent sphalerites with odd metallic gray faces, some chalcopyrite on the back, and one matte-finish tetrahedrite crystal (larger picture, bottom row, center).

Thanks to Antonis Frangoudis' auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Galena

A lustrous skeletal galena crystal, collected in the 1960s from the Madan ore field, Rhodope Mountains, Bulgaria. It has some dark-green sphalerite attached.

Thanks to Emil Stoyanov's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 36

Galena

A fascinating galena cube from Dal'Negorsk, Primorskiy Kray, Russia - the exposed surface is highly eroded.

Galena, var.
Steinmannite

This is the variety of galena known as "steinmannite" - it contains a small amount of antimony and arsenic. The crystals in this miniature from Pribram, Bohemia, Czech Republic are very lustrous with rounded edges. There's also some realgar present.

Thanks to Thomas Bee's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Gartrellite

A micromount of greenish gartrellite (a complex hydrated lead copper iron sulfatoarsenate) on matrix from the Gold Hill Mine, Deep Creek Mts, Toole County, Utah. Some analyses show carbonate and hydroxy anions as well.

Thanks to Chris Stefano's Christopher J. Stefano Fine Minerals auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Row 37

Gartrellite

This is a large micro of earthy yellow-green gartrellite coating the entire matrix from the type locality of the Anticline Prospect, Ashburton Downs, Ashburton Shire, Pilbara Region, Western Australia, Australia. Ex: Volkwein Collection (#F+G-27).

Thanks to Dieter Obrecht's The NetMine auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Geocronite

Yet another lead sulfosalt (this one with antimony and arsenic), this thumbnail of geocronite in quartz comes from Udden, Filipstad, Värmland, Sweden. It forms a series with jordanite, the fully arsenical endmember.

Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen!

Geocronite

A micro of massive granular geocronite from the limestone quarry at Prachovce, Pardubice Region, Bohemia, Czech Republic.

Thanks to Colleen Thomson's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Row 38

Geocronite

My third geocronite is this miniature from the Cleveland Mine, Adams Mountain in the Huckleberry Range, Stevens County, Washington. It has an old Excalibur dealer tag from back when they were in the Bronx!

Thanks to Kristen Burgess' auction on eBay for the specimen!

Gratonite

Another lead (arsenic) sulfosalt, this small cabinet coarsely crystalline piece of gratonite, comes from the type locality of the Excelsior Mine, Cerro de Pasco District, Alcides Carrion Province, Pasco Department, Peru.

Thanks to Dave Bunk (Dave Bunk Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen!

Hancockite

A micromount of red-orange hancockite (lead aluminum iron hydroxysilicate with small amounts of calcium and strontium replacing the lead) crystals from the type locality of the Franklin Mining District, Sussex County, New Jersey. Hancockite is now more properly referred to as epidote-(Pb).

Thanks to Don Smoley's Minerals & Gems' table at the 2002 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen!

Row 39

Hancockite

This small cabinet specimen of massive hancockite, or epidote-(Pb), with tiny axinite-filled vugs also comes from the Franklin Mining District. It has a Mine Hill Mineral Shoppe tag.

Thanks to Doreen Fenn's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Heliophyllite

A micromount of orangeish crystals of heliophyllite (a lead chloropyroarsenate) in microvugs of aragonite from Madein, Laccos, Kassandia, Greece. According to MinDat, heliophyllite is "apparently dimorphous with ecdemite" and needs reinvestigation.

Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen!

Heliophyllite

An excellent miniature of a pale-orange cluster of heliophyllite crystals from the Lavrion District, Attika Prefecture, Greece.

Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Row 40

Hematophanite

Dark-red hematophanite (a lead iron oxyhydroxychloride) grains in a manganese ore matrix comprise this miniature from the Kombat Mine, Kombat, Grootfontein District, Otjozondjupa Region, Namibia.

Thanks to Kristen Burgess' auction on eBay for the specimen!

Heyite

This miniature of micro yellow heyite (a lead iron oxyvanadate) crystals on matrix is from the Silver Coin Mine, Humboldt County, Nevada. Ex: Robert M. Eaton Collection.

Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the images!

Heyrovskyite

A 2mm grain of metallic heyrovskyite (a lead silver bismutosulfide) in quartz from the type locality of Hurky, Stredocesky kraj, Cechy (Cistà), Czech Republic. It may form a series with aschamalmite where the silver is deficient.

Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the images!

Row 41

Hidalgoite

A miniature of pale green hidalgoite (a lead aluminum hydroxysulfatoarsenate) in matrix from the Glory Hole, Gold Hill Mine, Tooele County, Utah. It's the aluminum analog of beudantite.

Thanks to Chris Auer's (Eureka Micromounts) auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Hidalgoite

Another miniature of light-green hidalgoite in matrix from the Gold Hill Mine.

Thanks to Alexander Falster's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Hutchinsonite

A miniature of massive hutchinsonite (a lead thallium arsenic sulfide) with micro pyrites on matrix from the type locality of the Lengenbach Quarry, Binntal, Wallis (Valais), Switzerland. The closeup (larger image, bottom left) shows that the hutxchinsonite is bright red in thin sections.

Thanks to Chris Auer's (Eureka Micromounts) auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Row 42

Hutchinsonite

A tiny hutchinsonite spray on a dolomite matrix, also from the Lengenbach Quarry.

Thanks to Luca De Battisti's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Hydrocerussite

The Mendip Hills, Somerset, England was the home of this 1cm hydrocerussite (lead hydroxycarbonate) crystal.

Thanks to Duane Leavitt's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Iranite

An excellent micro with dark-browm iranite (a complex lead copper chromate) crystals on matrix with orange wulfenite from the Slinger Mine, Goodsprings, Spring Mts, Clark County, Nevada.

Thanks to Jake Slagle's Maryland Minerals auction on eBay for the specimen and images!

Row 43

Iranite

There's at least one submillimeter crystal of iranite on this micro, also from the Slinger Mine.

Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the images!

Jamesonite

The La Noria Mine near Municipio de Sombrerete in Zacatecas, Mexico was the home of this miniature jamesonite (another lead iron antimony sulfosalt) - typically, the specimens from here look more like stibnite than usual. There's also some tiny pyrites (cubopyritohedral!) and a few moderately transparent valentinites (closeup)! It forms an incomplete series with benavidesite (where manganese partially replaces the iron) and is a dimorph with parajamesonite.

Thanks to Sharon Cisneros at the Mineralogical Research Company for the specimen and the image!

Jamesonite

Jamesonite in radiating spherules! I've never seen this habit mentioned in any field guide. This cabinet plate of delicate jamesonite is from Felsobanya (now Baia Sprie), Romania.

Thanks to Jon Gladwell's (Myrddin Emrys Limited) auction on eBay for the specimen and images!

Row 44

Jaskolskiite

A micro of dark-gray jaskolskiite ( a lead copper antimony bismuth sulfosalt) granules in matrix from the type locality of the Vena Mines, Hammar, Askersund, Närke, Sweden.

Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Jordanite

This is a very pretty small cabinet specimen of jordanite (a lead arsenic sulfosalt) with lengenbachite, wurtzite (a dimorph of sphalerite), and barite on white dolomite. It comes from the type locality of the Lengenbach Quarry in the Binntal, Canton Wallis, Swiss Alps. Jordanite forms a series with geocronite where antimony replaces some of the arsenic.

Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the images!

Jordanite

A fascinating miniature of a single dark-gray metallic jordanite crystal alongside a gemmy crystal of light-yellow-green sphalerite (see larger image) on a dolomite matrix with tiny pyrite veins, again from the type locality of the Lengenbach Quarry.

Thanks to Tony Nikischer at the Excalibur Mineral Company for the specimen!

Row 45

Kaiyuhite

Kaiyuhite (a lead silver bismuth antimony sulfosalt) is now a discredited mineral. This 1 cm chip comes from the type locality of the Perseverance Mine, near Ruby, Kaiyuh District, Yukon-Koyukuk Borough, Alaska. Ex: Phillips Collection. There is almost no information on kaiyuhite available on the internet - Google only finds six entries! It may just be a synonym for an argentiferous, etc. galena. The Smithsonian has a piece as do a couple of webdealers.

Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the images!

Kentrolite

Kentrolite (from the Greek kentron, point) is a lead manganese (soro)silicate - this miniature's from the Prospect Claim, Sierra County, New Mexico. It's also the end member of a two-mineral series, melanotektite (a lead iron silicate) being the other.

Thanks to Michael Cottingham's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Kintoreite

A miniature of brownish-yellow millimeter-sized crystals of kintoreite, a hydrated lead iron hydroxyphosphate on matrix with brown corkite crystals (larger image, right, top center) from the Clara Mine, Oberwolfach, Black Forest, Germany.

Thanks to Martin Gale's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 46

Kobellite

Collected in 2001, this miniature of kobellite on quartz comes from the Smolnik Mine, Východoslovenský Kraj, Slovak Republic. Kobellite's another one of the many lead sulfosalts - a lead copper antimonbismutosulfide. It forms a complete series with tintinaite as the antimony content increases and an incomplete series with izoklakeite which also has iron.

Thanks to Steve & Susan Bringe's (Summit Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen!

Kobellite, var.
Selenian Kobellite

An excellent micro of bright silvery selenian kobellite (or selenokobellite) from the varietal type (and only) locality of the Boliden Mine, Boliden, Västerbotten, Sweden.

Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Kombatite

A nice micro of light-yellow kombatite (a lead vanadium oxychloride) on matrix from the type locality of the Kombat Mine, Kombat, Grootfontein District, Otjozondjupa Region, Namibia. It's the vanadium analog of sahlinite.

Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Row 47

Krettnichite

A small cabinet specimen of reddish-brown plates (see arrow) of the newly-approved (2000) mineral krettnichite (ideally lead manganese hydroxyvanadate, but typical analyses also show strontium, cobalt, iron, and arsenate) on matrix from the type locality of the Krettnich manganese mine, Wadern, Saarland, Germany. It forms an incomplete series with mounanaite, where iron replaces the manganese.

Thanks to Chris Auer's (Eureka Micromounts) auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Lanarkite

Tiny white tabular crystals of lanarkite (lead oxysulfate) on a lead slag matrix comprise this large micro from the Lautenthal slag locality, Harz, Lower Saxony, Germany. It's isostructural with phoenicochroite (lead oxychromate).

Thanks to Csanad Loranth's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Larsenite

A very good thumbnail of colorless larsenite (lead zinc orthosilicate) needles in vugs from Hettstedt, Mansfield Basin, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

Thanks to Stephen Hernly's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Row 48

Laurionite

Colorless needles of laurionite (lead oxychloride) in vugs comprise this micro from the Herzog Julius smelter (slag locality), Astfeld, Goslar, Harz Mts, Lower Saxony, Germany. It's the orthorhombic dimorph of monoclinic paralaurionite.

Thanks to Jake Slagle's Maryland Minerals auction on eBay for the specimen and images!

Leadhillite

A large micro extremely rich in whitish tabular leadhillite (lead hydroxysulfatocarbonate) from the Reward Mine, Reward, Russ District, Inyo Mts, Inyo County, California. Monoclinic leadhillite is trimorphic with orthorhombic macphersonite and trigonal susannite. Heating leadhillite causes it to reversibly transform into susannite in the temperature range from 50 to 82°C.

Thanks to Jake Slagle's Maryland Minerals auction on eBay for the specimen and image!

Lengenbachite

A micromount of a lengenbachite (a lead silver copper arsenic sulfide) needle in matrix from the type locality - the Lengenbach Quarry in Wallis, Switzerland.

Thanks to Alexander Falster's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 49

Lillianite

A handsome miniature of metallic lillianite (a lead bismuth sulfosalt) and brown sphalerite in matrix from somewhere near Inglesia, Sonora, Mexico. It's dimorphic with xilingolite and forms a series with gustavite where silver replaces some of the lead. Ex: Joe Cilen collection.

Thanks to David H. Garske's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Linarite

This miniature from the Blanchard Claims in Bingham, Socorro County, New Mexico has linarite (a lead copper hydroxysulfate), anglesite (lead sulfate), and brochantite.

Thanks to Dave Hayward at Lucky Strike Minerals for the specimen and the image!

Linarite

Like my other Bingham linarite, this miniature has brochantite (in beautiful needle clusters, larger image, right).

Thanks to Wayne Bloechl's (GeoJoe's) auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 50

Linarite

A minature of linarite with probable caledonite on the matrix. This one's from Inyo, California.

Thanks to Martha Crawford's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Linarite

An old (Denver Mineral Show, 10 Sep 1978) miniature with big radial sprays of linarite - you don't see crystals like these very often! It's also from the Blanchard Claims (there's the typical galena, anglesite, fluorite association) and has an Earth Gems & Minerals (Turlock, California) tag.

Thanks to Leigh DelRay's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Linarite on
Cerussite

A beautiful thumbnail of linarite on cerussite from the classic locality for linarite, the Grand Reef Mine, Laurel Canyon, Klondyke, Aravaipa District, Pinaleño Mountains, Graham County, Arizona.

Thanks to Micah Cline's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Row 51

Liveingite

A small cabinet specimen of liveingite (a lead arsenic sulfosalt) with realgar in matrix from the type locality of the Lengenbach Quarry, Binntal, Switzerland. It has a Ward's tag (which says "Rathite", but it also has a Robert E. Jenkins, II tag, who reanalyzed it). Liveingite forms an incomplete series with Baumhauerite-2a. There are (at least) two different formulas for liveingite; Pb9As13S28 and Pb20As24S56.

Thanks to C. Carter Rich's table at the 2004 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen!

Luddenite

A small miniature of nickel-green luddenite (a hydrated lead copper silicate) and colorless alamosite crystals from the Rawhide Mine, in the Artillery Mountains, Mohave County, Arizona.

Thanks to Dieter Obrecht's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Macquartite

A beautiful micro of bright orange macquartite (a lead copper hydroxychromatosilicate) from the type and only locality of the Mammoth-Saint Anthony Mine, St. Anthony deposit, Tiger, Pinal County, Arizona. Ex: Bob Rothenberg Collection.

Thanks to Chris Stefano's Christopher J. Stefano Fine Minerals auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Row 52

Margarosanite

A good miniature of pearly white scales of margarosanite (a lead calcium manganese three-ring cyclosilicate) on matrix from the Jakobsberg Mine, Nordmark, Värmlands, Sweden.

Thanks to Claus Hedegaard's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Maricopaite

This thumbnail of white radiating sprays of maricopaite (closeup), a lead calcium zeolite, and yellow mimetite comes from its type locality - Moon Anchor Mine, Tonopah, Maricopa County, Arizona.

Thanks to Richard Dale's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Mendipite

A miniature of light-pink mendipite, lead oxychloride, (larger image, top right) in white hydrocerussite with micro green pyromorphite (larger image, bottom left) - the label has a confusing locality, either the Higher Pitts Mine (type locality) or the Merehead Quarry, Mendip Hills, Somereset, England.

Thanks to Anthony Jones' auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Row 53

Meneghinite

Meneghinite's a rare lead copper antimony sulfide - this miniature comes from the Kalkan Quarry, Santa Cruz County, California. Most of the literature shows the copper content. It's a member of the aikinite group.

Mimetite

A miniature of mimetite (lead chloroarsenate) with a little bit of reasonably transparent wulfenite on limonite from Mapimi in Durango, Mexico. There's one colorless crystal of something (probably dolomite) riding on top. The mimetite fluoresces brownish-orange. The wulfenite habit here is atypical; it's almost equant cubes (closeup). Mimetite is dimorphous with clinomimetite.

Thanks to Dave Hayward at Lucky Strike Minerals for the specimen and the image!

Mimetite

This beautiful miniature of bright (neon) orange mimetite on limonite is from the Rowley Mine outside of Theba, Maricopa County, Arizona. It's also got a couple of clear (so transparent, they're almost invisible - see closeup) yellow wulfenite crystals, and on the back, some barite blades.

Thanks to Olympic Mountain Gems, Inc. for the specimen and the image!

Row 54

Mimetite

This extremely gemmy mimetite miniature is from the mid-2000 find in Hat Yai, Songkla, Thailand - I'm not sure what the matrix is (probably botryoidal goethite). Philipsbornite, a lead aluminum hydroarsenate, was also associated with mimetite from there.

Thanks to Jeff & Gloria's table at the 2000 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen!

Mimetite
on Barite

A small cabinet specimen of mimetite clusters on barite flowers from the San Francisco Mine in Sonora, Mexico.

Thanks to Brian McManus's (Pebble Peddler) auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Mimetite

A cute thumbnail of fibrous yellow mimetite with a few light orange wulfenites on barite from the Rowley Mine, Maricopa County Arizona.

Thanks to Phil Helsley's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 55

Mimetite

A bright yellow mimetite thumbnail from the 2003 discovery near Huo Zhou City, Guangxi Province, China.

Thanks to Val Collins' auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Mimetite

A beautiful cluster of beige mimetites from the Mt. Bonnie Mine, Grove Hill in the Northern Territory of Australia. The habit here is unique.

Thanks to Frank P. Butler's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Mimetite

A rare color for mimetite, this old red-orange gemmy miniature is probably from the Dry Gill Mine, Caldbeck Fells, Cumbria, England.

Thanks to John Firriolo's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 56

Mimetite

A beautiful micro floater aggregate of orange mimetite from the 2004 find at the Pingtouling Mine, near Sanjiang City, Liannan County, Guangdong Province, China.

Thanks to Kamran Jameel's (Khyber Mineral Company) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Mimetite,
var. Bellite

Bellite, or chromian mimetite, occurs here as red-orange to yellow (depending on the amount of chromium present) hexagonal microcrystals on matrix along with boléite (larger image, middle row, center), galena (larger image, middle row, right) and an unidentified dark green mineral (larger image, middle row, left). It's named after W. R. Bell, the Tasmanian prospector who first discovered this very rare mineral (in Tasmania) in 1910. This small cabinet piece is from the 2003 find in the Ponderosa Mine in Sierra Gorda, Antofagasta, Chile. It may, according to Tom Loomis of Dakota Matrix Minerals, become a mineral in its own right someday.

Thanks to the House of Onyx for the specimen!

Mimetite, var.
Campylite

When mimetite occurs in orange botryoidal masses, it's called campylite - this beautiful miniature (it's much brighter than it appears here) is from San Pedro Corralitos, Chihuahua, Mexico.

Thanks to Tom Klinepeter's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Row 57

Mimetite, var.
Campylite

Another campylite miniature - this light-orange frosted (the closeup, larger image, bottom, shows the internal color to be a beautiful deep orange) mimetite on matrix with tiny bluish-green balls of (probably) rosasite is from between the 8th & 9th level of the Inglaterra Mine section of the El Potosi Mine, Santa Eulalia, Chihuahua, Mexico. It also fluoresces pink as do most campylites from here.

Thanks to Charles Creekmur's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Mimetite, var.
Campylite

Another Santa Eulalia campylite - this miniature really sparkles!

Mimetite, var.
Campylite

A nice miniature of campylite with almost invisible pale yellow wulfenites (larger image, top right) from Sonora, Mexico.

Thanks to Melanie Wilcox's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Row 58

Mimetite, var.
Phosphatian Mimetite

This is somewhere in the middle of the mimetite-pyromorphite series - this small cabinet specimen of phosphatian mimetite (or arsenatian pyromorphite) comes from the Driggeth Mine, Caldbeck Fells, Cumbria, England.

Thanks to Chris Korpi at Pangaea Minerals for the specimen! Also, thanks to Michael Cooper, Mineral Curator of the London Museum, for the identification info!

Minium

Minium, or "red lead oxide", was used as a pigment and a rust preventative in anti-fouling paints. This miniature is from a location near Wickenburg, Arizona.

Thanks to Jan Garland's (Fine Rocks) auction on eBay for the specimen!

Molybdofornacite

A micro of pale-green molybdofornacite (a lead copper complex phosphate) on a dark matrix from from the Dulcinea de Llampos Mine, Cachiyuyo de Llampos district, Copiapo Province, Atacama Region, Chile. It's isostructural with vauquelinite.

Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Row 59

Monimolite

An excellent micro of green monimolite (lead calcium pyroantimonate) crusts on matrix from Altar, Mun. de Altar, Sonora, Mexico. Ex: Phillips Collection with a Cureton label. Some references consider monimolite to be identical to bindheimite (now named oxyplumboromeite), but a lot of the romeite group minerals need re-examination.

Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the images!

Mottramite

Mottramite and descloizite form a series of zinc copper lead vanadates - descloizite is yellow-brown and rich in zinc while the higher copper content makes mottramite olive green, as in this miniature from Socorro Peak, Socorro County, New Mexico.

Thanks to Kevin Conroy's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Mottramite

A cute sparkly thumbnail of mottramite from Pima County, Arizona.

Thanks to Don Goodell's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 60

Munakataite

A micro of blue munakataite (a lead copper hydroxyselenosulfate) from the Tonopah Belmont Mine, Big Horn Mts, Maricopa County, Arizona. It's the sulfate analog of and is isostructural with schmiederite. NOTE: new analysis has shown that the material labeled as schmiederite from this locality is probably munakataite.

Thanks to Helmut Braith's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Nadorite

Nadorite's a lead antimony oxychloride (and the antimony analog of the lead bismuth oxychloride, perite). The nadorite occurs with (probable) valentinite and stibiconite in this miniature from the type locality of Djebel Nador, Constantine, Algeria. The closeup shows both a radiating needle and a tabular habit.

Thanks to David H. Garske's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Nadorite

Another type locality nadorite - the bladed habit is easier to see in this miniature. Ex: Cooke Collection.

Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the images!

Row 61

Nealite

Nealite's a lead iron chloroarsenite that occurs in tiny orange crystals, as here in this micromount from the type locality of Laurium, Attiki, Greece.

Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen!

Osarizawaite

Osarizawaite's a rare lead copper aluminum hydroxysulfate - this thumbnail, with galena and cerussite, is from the Silver Hill Mine in Pima County, Arizona.

Thanks to Emilie & Ron Kendig's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Owyheeite

Owyheeite's a lead silver antimony sulfosalt that usually occurs as compacted fibers (closeup) - this miniature's from the Broken Hill Mine in Churchill County, Nevada. Some references show a little bismuth replacing the antimony.

Thanks to SoCal Nevada's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 62

Palmierite

There are a dozen or so tiny white crystals of palmierite (lead potassium sodium sulfate) in the arrow-marked vug in this large micro from Hettstedt, Mansfield Basin, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It's isostructural with and the lead analog of kalistrontite. Synthetic palmierite-structured materials are under investigation.

Thanks to Stephen Hernly's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Paralaurionite

A crystal fragment of paralaurionite (lead hydroxychloride) from the Mendip Hills, England. It's the monoclinic dimorph of orthorhombic laurionite.

Thanks to C. Carter Rich's table at the 2004 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen!

Paralaurionite

A nice miniature of gray platy paralaurionite crystal masses on matrix from the Sierra Gorda District, Tocopilla, Antofagasta, Chile. Like laurionite, it's a member of the matlockite group.

Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the images!

Row 63

Pattersonite

An excellent micro of dark-yellow pattersonite (a hydrated lead iron hydroxyphosphate) rosettes (larger image, right) on a limonitic matrix from a single boulder in the dumps at the type locality of the Vereinigung Mine, Eisenbach, Bad Camberg, Taunus, Hesse, Germany. Pattersonite is the triclinic dimorph of trigonal kintoreite and it's rarity suggests it might be metastable with respect to kintoreite. Mote that there is also a chlorite varietal named pattersonite/

Thanks to Csanad Loranth's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Pellouxite

An excellent micro of black pellouxite (essentially a lead antimony sulfosalt with traces of copper, silver, oxygen, and chlorine) grains on matrix from the type locality of the Buca della Vena Mine, Stazzema, Apuan Alps, Lucca Province, Tuscany, Italy. It's structurally related to scainite.

Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Philipsbornite

A small miniature of powdery pale-blue philipsbornite (a hydrated lead aluminum hydroxyarsenate) on fluorite from the Christiana Mine, Kamariza Mines, Agios Konstantinos, Lavrion District, Attika Prefecture, Greece. The color here is distinctly bluish so this may not be purely philipsbornite - maybe with all of the copper minerals here, it may be contaminated. It's the arsenate analog of plumbogummite and the lead analogue of arsenocrandallite and arsenogoyazite.

Thanks to Kristen Burgess' auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 64

Phoenicochroite

A colorful miniature comprising deep-red phoenicochroite (lead (per)oxychromate), yellow-orange hemihedrite and assorted other minerals (larger image) from hemihedrite's type locality, the Pack Rat #2 Claim, Wickenburg, Maricopa County, Arizona. It forms an incomplete series with lanarkite, its oxysulfate analog.

Thanks to Kim & Cindy Strange's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Pillaite

An excellent micro of silvery-black pillaite (a lead antimony oxychlorosulfosalt with a trace of copper) from the type locality of the Buca della Vena Mine, Stazzema, Apuan Alps, Lucca Province, Tuscany, Italy.

Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Plattnerite

Plattnerite's one of the many lead oxides and a fairly rare mineral. This miniature's from Mapimi, Mexico and also has coppery-colored botryoidal goethite, a couple of light-gray cloudy calcite rhombs, some cerussite and what appears to be hemimorphite on a limonite matrix. It's the tetragonal dimorph of orthorhombic scrutinyite.

Thanks to Jan Garland's (Fine Rocks) auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 65

Plattnerite

This museum-size plattnerite's also from Mapimi - it has a scheelite-calcite mix (larger image, bottom center) on the bottom and a Texas Tech Geological Museum label.

Thanks to Steve & Susan Bringe's (Summit Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Plattnerite

More plattnerite from the Ojuela Mine, Mapimi, Durango, Mexico - this small cabinet specimen hosts bright white hydrozincite as well as limonite and calcite.

Thanks to Leland Goodwin's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Plattnerite and
Hemimorphite

An impressive small cabinet specimen of black plattnerite and colorless hemimorphite on matrix from the Lone Mountain Mine in the Empire Mountains, Pima County, Arizona.

Row 66

Plumbogummite

A beautiful miniature of bluish-green botryoidal plumbogummite (a hydrated lead aluminum hydroxyphosphate) over yellow pyromorphite from the Yangshuo Mine, Guoteng, Guangxi Province, China. Plumbogummite is the phosphate analog of the arsenate philipsbornite and the lead analog of crandallite.

Thanks to Rory Howell's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Potosiite

One of the many lead tin iron antimony sulfides, potosiite occurs here, in this thumbnail from Poopó, Oruro, Bolivia, as long pseudohexagonal prisms. The label claims that there's incaite present (it only occurs in microscopic crystals); Poopó's the type locality for incaite.

Thanks to Adam Larson's (Adam's Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Pottsite

This rare pottsite (a lead bismuth vanadate) miniature occurs only (type locality) at the Linka Mine near Spencer Hot Springs, Lander County, Nevada.

Thanks to Mike Keim at Marin Minerals for the specimen!

Row 67

Pseudoboléite

This is a beautiful small-cabinet specimen of sparkly dark-blue pseudoboléite (a hydrated lead copper oxychloride), dark-green malachite, and other assorted minerals on matrix from the Santa Catalina Mine, Sierra Gorda, Chile.

Thanks to James Zigras' auction on eBay for the specimen!

Pyromorphite

Pyromorphite (lead chlorophosphate) is a minor lead ore - this small cabinet's from the Chester County Mines, in Phoenixville, Chester County, Penssylvania. It forms a complete series with mimetite and often, specimens are intermediate in composition.

Thanks to Dave Hayward at Lucky Strike Minerals for the specimen and the image!

Pyromorphite

Lustrous yellow-green crystals of pyromorphite to 4 mm in size are scattered about this miniature from the Clara Mine near Schwarzwald, Germany.

Thanks to Dan Wienrich at Dan & Jill Weinrich for the specimen and the image!

Row 68

Pyromorphite

The colors in this miniature from Juarez, Cerro de San Pedro, San Luis Potosí, Mexico go very well together - green pyromorphite, yellow wulfenite, gray galena, and white barite - it's really a beautiful piece!

Thanks to Bob Winfree's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Pyromorphite

A beautiful green pyromorphite toenail cluster from Yangshu (Yang Shao), Gui Lin, Guangxi Province, China.

Thanks to Greg Holland at the Stone Haven Mineral Shoppe for the specimen and the images!

Pyromorphite

This miniature was labeled as vanadinite, but I think it's more likely pyromorphite on a calcite matrix.

Row 69

Pyromorphite

This miniature of pyromorphite from the Yang Shao Mine, Guang Xi Province, is a lighter green than usual from China.

Thanks to Rick & Deana Seng's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Pyromorphite

This miniature (probably Mexican) comprises brown pyromorphite, dark yellow transparent vanadinite, black sphalerite, and white barite on a matrix. Lots of colors and different crystal froms!

Thanks to Martha Crawford's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Pyromorphite

Beautiful, though small, emerald green pyromorphite crystals on a quartz matrix comprise this miniature from the famous Loudville Lead Mine (Manhan Mine) in Easthampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts! This locale was profiled in the March / April 2001 edition of Rocks & Minerals. This specimen was collected by the author of that article at that time! See my wulfie from the same locale.

Thanks to Eric Greene's (Treasure Mountain Mining) auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Row 70

Pyromorphite

A bright orange thumbnail of arsenian pyromorphite from the Jersey Vein of the Bunker Hill Mine, Kellogg, Shoshone County, Idaho.

Thanks to Tom Klinepeter's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Pyromorphite

A cute pyromorphite floater from Yangshu (Yang Shao), Guangxi Province, China.

Thanks to North Star Minerals's table at the 2004 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen!

Queitite

Powdery white queitite (a lead zinc sulfatosilicate) covers the matrix of this miniature from the Lucky Cuss Mine, Tombstone, Cochise County, Arizona. This might be the calcian variety which pseudomorphs alamosite (only) at this locality.

Row 71

Raspite
(probably Stolzite)

A gorgeous but tiny (2mm) glassy orange crystal of raspite (used to be called lead tungstate but is now a mixed oxide) on matrix from the type locality of the Broken Hill Proprietary mine, Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia. It's dimorphous with tetragonal stolzite. Ex: Cooke Collection and William Pinch.

Note: I have recently been informed by an Australian Broken Hill mimeral collector that this is probably stolzite instead of raspite.

Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the images!

Revoredite

Not a proper mineral according to most references, this capsule of metallic gray revoredite chips comes from its "co-type locality" of the Quiruvilca Mine, Quiruvilca District, Santiago de Chuco Province, La Libertad Department, Peru. Its composition is near PbAs4S7 and is probably a mixture of lead arsenosulfide glasses. Ex: Jungles Collection and has a MinResCo tag. It's named for Juan Francisco Aguilar Revoredo, a Peruvian mineralogist.

Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the images!

Sanromanite

A micro with scattered colorless sanromanite (lead sodium calcium carbonate) crystals on an unidentified green mineral from the type and only locality of the Santa Rosa Mine, Santa Rosa-Huantajaya District, Iquique Province, Tarapaca Region, Chile. It's the lead analog of burbankite, calcioburbankite, and khanneshite.

Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Row 72

Sartorite

A tiny crystal of sartorite (lead thioarsenide) from the type locality of the Lengenbach Quarry Binntal, Valais Canton, Switzerland. There's always some thallium present (up to 6.4%).

Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen!

Scainiite

A micro of silvery scainiite (a lead antimony oxysulfosalt) in matrix from the type locality of the Buca della Vena Mine, Stazzema, Apuan Alps, Lucca Province, Tuscany, Italy. It was the first lead antimony ocysulfosalt.

Thanks to Chris Stefano's Christopher J. Stefano Fine Minerals auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Schirmerite

A micro of dark-gray granular schirmerite (a lead silver bismuth sulfosalt) along with galena, pyrite, etc. in a quartz matrix from the "type locality" of the Treasury Vault Mine, Geneva District, Park Co., Colorado. Ex - Dr. Sidney Williams and Hans Broscheck collections. See the MinDat article for more about schirmerite and this locale.

Thanks to Tony Nikischer at the Excalibur Mineral Company for the specimen!

Row 73

Scrutinyite

Scrutinyite (lead dioxide) almost always is intergrown with its dimorph, plattnerite - this thumbnail of scrutinyite-dusted quartz is from the 1990 find at the Snake Pit Mine, Hansonburg District, Socorro County, New Mexico, where, for the time ever, scrutinyite was found in isolation.

Thanks to Steve & Susan Bringe's (Summit Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Seeligerite

A miniature of platy seeligerite crystals (lead oxychloroiodate) on matrix from the San Francisco Mine, Sierra Gorda, Caracoles District, Antofagasta Province, Chile.

Thanks to Duane Leavitt's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Segnitite

Greenish-brown microcrystals of segnitite (a lead iron hydroxyarsenate) on matrix (miniature) from the type locality of the Kintore Open Cut, Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia.

Thanks to Tony Nikischer's Excalibur Mineral Company auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 74

Semseyite

Semseyite's a rare lead antimony sulfosalt named after the Hungarian patron Andor von Semsey. Because he gave vast financial assistance to the Mineral Collection of the Hungarian National Museum, Professor Joseph Krenner named semseyite and andorite after him as a mark of his great respect. This miniature of even rarer tabular semseyite crystals (and calcite spherules on the back) on matrix is from the Herja Mine, Baia Mare, Maramures, Romania. I'm not sure what the matrix is - they're rhombohedral with strongly-curved faces and appear to be coated with something metallic (on a few crystals, the coating is thin enough that it becomes brown and merely lustrous). Semseyite's the end member of a small group of related lead sulfosalts; the members (semseyite, rayite (a semseyite subgroup where silver and thallium replace a small amount of the lead), heteromorphite, plagionite, fülöppite) differ in composition by the amount of sheet galena in their structures with semseyite having the most and fülöppite the least.

Thanks to Darrel Merke's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Thanks also to Ildikó Vég for the Andor von Semsey information!

Shannonite

A micromount of white shannonite (lead oxycarbonate) on matrix from the long-closed Tonopah-Belmont Mine, Tonopah, Belmont Mts, Maricopa County, Arizona. More people have died in this mine since it was closed than during its 11-year operating lifetime. Ex: Michael Shannon Collection

Thanks to Michael Cline's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Sorbyite

Metallic grains of sorbyite, a complex lead copper antimony arsenosulfide, in a thumbnail matrix, probably from the Lenskoye (Novoye) Mo-U deposit, Amurskaya Oblast', in Russia.

Row 75

Stolzite

Stolzite is the rare tungsten analog of wulfenite and dimorphous with monoclinic raspite - this thumbnail cluster is from the Ste Lucie Mine, St Léger-de-Peyre, Lozère, France.

Thanks to Emilie & Ron Kendig's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Teallite

Teallite's a lead thiostannite (PbSnS2) - this miniature comes from the Carguaicollo (Karguai Khoyo) Mine, Quijarro Province, Potosi Department, Bolivia, the primary source. Teallite should be kept in a dry environment - a damp specimen will decompose into fine-grained galena, colloidal tin oxide ("wood tin"), and hydrogen sulfide. It forms an incomplete series with herzenbergite, tin sulfide..

Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen!

Thanks also to Fred Barnard for the locale correction and information and teallite storage warning!

Thometzekite

An excellent miniature of massive scorodite with vugs containg yellow-green thometzekite (a hydrated lead copper zinc arsenate) crusts (larger image, top center, right), red carminite, and scorodite crystals from the 110' level of the Gold Hill Mine, Clifton District, Tooele County, Utah. One reference has thometzekite forming a complete series with tsumcorite.

Thanks to Anthony Jones' auction on eBay for the specimen!

Thanks also to Erich Laskowski for the locale correction!

Row 767

Tintinaite

Tintinaite's a rare lead copper silver (bismuth antimony) sulfosalt - this micromount of tintinaite on milky quartz is from Roznava, Východoslovenský Kraj, Slovakia. It forms a complete series with kobellite as the bismuth content increases.

Thanks to Thomas Bee's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Tsumcorite

Yellow tufts and aggregates of tsumcorite (a lead zinc iron hydroxyarsenate, or hydrated arsenate depending on your references) from the type locality of the Tsumeb Mine, Tsumeb, Otjikoto Region, Namibia. There's also a green duftite (type locality, also) druse on the miniature matrix. According to one reference, tsumcorite forms an incomplete series with mawbyite where the iron predominates over the zinc. Another reference states that tsumcorite forms two complete series; one with thometzekite, where copper replaces the zinc, and another with helmutwinklerite where zinc totally replaces the iron.

Thanks to Rick Kennedy's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Tsumcorite

A much brighter small thumbnail of tsumcorite crisscrossed with duftite veins from the type locality of the Tsumeb (Tsumcorp) Mine. Ex: Gilbert Gauthier (2004)

Thanks to Michael Cline's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Row 77

Tsumebite

A beautiful miniature of bright-green tsumebite (a lead copper hydroxysulfatophosphate) crystals in quartz from the Mex-Tex Mine, Hansonburg District, Socorro County, New Mexico. It was collected by Tom Massis and is the phosphate analog of arsentsumebite and the copper analog of feinglosite.

Thanks to Steve & Susan Bringe's (Summit Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Vanadinite

There's enough vanadinite in the U.S. that it was once considered an ore even though it's only 11% vanadium. Vanadinite, mimetite, and pyromorphite are all chemically closely related - they're (respectively) lead chlorovanadate, lead chloroarsenate, and lead chlorophosphate. This miniature's probably from Arizona.

Vanadinite

This bright red vanadinite miniature comes from Mibladen, Morocco.

Thanks to Gary Lozonne at Lozonne's Minerals for the specimen and the image!

Row 78

Vanadinite

A beautiful thumbnail of twinned vanadinite from the Old Yuma Mine, Jaynes, Pima County, Arizona.

Thanks to Adam Larson at Adam's Mineralsfor the specimen!

Vanadinite

A bright red thumbnail vanadinite cluster from Morocco.

Thanks to Scher Sharma's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Vanadinite

This thumbnail of vanadinite is from the Ramsey Mine in Yuma County, Arizona - it's actually a bit greener than the images show.

Thanks to Emilie & Ron Kendig's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 79

Vanadinite

A thumbnail of vanadinite from Arizona with color gradation from yellow-orange to red.

Thanks to the Nature's Expressions booth at the 2000 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen!

Vanadinite

Often vanadinite from Morocco (Oudja, in this miniature) occurs on white barite.

Thanks to Peter Biskup's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Vanadinite

A pretty orange vanadinite miniature from the J.C. Holmes Mine, Patagonia, Santa Cruz County, Arizona. According to the Mineralogical Research Company, "The Vanadinite crystals [ from the J.C. Holmes Mine] are elongated and dipyramidal in habit, with no C faces".

Thanks to Rob Kulakofsky at the Arizona Mineral Company for the specimen and the image!
Closeup image copyrighted by the Arizona Mineral Company.

Row 80

Vanadinite

This small cabinet specimen of yellow vanadinite (the colors vary from a greenish-yellow through a light amber) comes from the Puzzler Mine in Yuma County, Arizona.

Thanks to Tom Hales' (Museum Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen and images!

Vanadinite

A bright vermilion vanadinite on descloizite on quartz miniature from the Apache Mine, Globe, Gila County, Arizona. The sparkling spires (larger image, bottom) are really beautiful!

Thanks to Keith Hayes' (KQ's Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen!

Vanadinite

Beautiful bright orange vanadinite on barite miniature from Mibladen, Morocco.

Thanks to Roger Hoek's (ARCH Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 81

Vanadinite

A thumbnail of intergrown vanadinite crystals in the "sheaf" habit from the famous, but long-closed, Western Union Mine in the Cerbat Mountains of Mohave County, Arizona near Kingman.

Thanks to Christie & Chuck's Stone Roses auction on eBay for the specimen and images!

Vanadinite

This is a beautiful, big (over one cubic cm) hoppered vanadinite crystal from the Old Yuma Mine, Jaynes, Pima County, Arizona.

Thanks to Dan Wienrich at Dan & Jill Weinrich for the specimen and the image!

Vanadinite

What appears to be yellow vanadinite on pink calcite from the San Carlos Mine, Mun De Manuel Benavides, Chihuahua, Mexico is actually (probably ecdemite) coated red vanadinite (larger image, center, right). It's still an impressive miniature - these haven't been on the market for decades!

Thanks to auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 82

Vanadinite,
var. Endlichite

Endlichite isn't really a proper mineral - it's an arsenic-rich vanadinite; but it's color and habit are distinctive enough from vanadinite and mimetite that it's often listed separately. This miniature comes from the Ahumada Mine near Sierra de Los Lamentos in Chihuahua, Mexico.

Thanks to Chris Korpi at Pangaea Minerals for the specimen!

Vanadinite,
var. Endlichite

Tiny silvery-brown endlichite needles on this thumbnail from Minas Ahumado in Los Lamentos, Chihuahua, Mexico.

Thanks to Richard Dale's (Dale Minerals International) auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Vanadinite,
var. Endlichite

A miniature of sparkly silvery-tan crystals of endlichite on bright orange descloizite from the Chalk Mountain Mine in Churchill County, Nevada.

Thanks to Richard Dale at Dale Minerals International for the specimen!

Row 83

Vanadinite,
var. Endlichite

Beautiful brown endlichites (some with transparent fiery yellow tips) surrounded by elongated dodecahedral calcites (though the light yellow phosphorescence reminds of cerussite) comprise this thumbnail from (probably the Ahumada Mine), Los Lamentos, Mexico.

Thanks to Wayne Bloechl's (GeoJoe's) auction on eBay for the specimen!

Vanadinite,
var. Endlichite

Collected in 1990, this miniature of lemon-yellow endlichite on calcite is from what many consider the "type locality" of the Macy Mine, Caballo, Hillsboro, Sierra County, New Mexico.

Thanks to Steve & Susan Bringe's (Summit Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Vauquelinite

A micro of greenish-brown vauquelinite (a lead copper hydroxyphosphatochromate) crystals on a sugary quartz matrix from the abandoned quarry at Point 20.0, Katzenstein, Raidelbach, Reichenbach, Bensheim, Odenwald Hesse, Germany. Vauquelinite is the phosphate analog of fornacite with which it forms an incomplete series.

Thanks to Dieter Obrecht's The NetMine auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Row 84

Vauquelinite

A thumbnail of greenish-black vauqelinite crystals on matrix from the type locality of the Berezov District, Yekaterinburg, Russia.

Thanks to Mike Petrov's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Veenite

This micro of veenite (a lead antimony arsenic sulfide) comes from the More Farm, Madoc, Ontario, Canada. MinDat doesn't list the More Farm in its localities - this could be type locality material from the nearby Taylor Pit! Veenite forms a complete series with dufrénoysite, the antimony-free arsenic endmember.

Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Wherryite

Wherryite's an odd mineral - a lead copper hydroxysulfatosilicate. This small thumbnail, from the Rawhide Mine, Mojave County, Arizona, also has light-blue chrysocolla and gray fluorite. It's isostructural with macquartite, its chromatosilicate cousin.

Thanks to Richard Dale's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 85

Wickenburgite

This is a large cabinet piece of pink wickenburgite, a lead calcium aluminum phyllosilicate from the type locality of the Potter-Cramer Mine in Wickenburg, Maricopa County, Arizona. I don't know what the white powder is.

Thanks to Dru Wilbur's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Wulfenite

This thumbnail of wulfenite on limonite is from Arizona and displays the typical very thin tabular habit (there's also some tiny pale green pyromorphite between and on the wulfenite). It's a minor ore of both lead and molybdenum.

Wulfenite

This wulfenite miniature from the Los Lamentos mines in Chihuahua, Mexico has a unique bipyramidal tetragonal habit - usually it's in thin tabular crystals like my Arizona ones. There are two small transparent yellow wulfenite tabulars at the edge of the limonite matrix.

Thanks to Marcus Origlieri at The Mineral Zone for the specimen!

Row 86

Wulfenite

I got this cabinet specimen of wulfenite (again from Chihuahua, Mexico) because it's a different color (orange-tan) and it's got some other minerals mixed in with it (probably cerussite). There are also tiny clusters of yellow-orange mimetite on some of the wulfenite with some very small radial sprays of probably stibnite in them! It's also got an interesting cavity on the back.

Thanks to Dave Hayward at Lucky Strike Minerals for the specimen!

Wulfenite and
Willemite

A unique miniature (wulfenite and willemite don't occur together very often) from Tiger, Arizona.

Thanks to Gary Lozonne at Lozonne's Minerals for the specimen and the image!

Wulfenite

More wulfenite - this thumbnail's from the famous Red7nbsp;Cloud Mine near Yuma, La Paz County, Arizona.

Thanks to Greg Bradbury at Crystalmaze for the specimen and the images!

Row 87

Wulfenite

Another Red Cloud wulfenite thumbnail (cluster!) obtained through the The Virtual Show during the 2000 Tucson Show.

Wulfenite

I haven't seen much black wulfenite - this thumbnail is from the Glove Mine, Amado, Santa Cruz County, Arizona.

Thanks to Bob Keller at the Arizona Mineral Company for the specimen and the image!
Image copyrighted by the Arizona Mineral Company.

Wulfenite

This brown wulfenite miniature's from the Defiance Mine in Gleeson, Cochise County, Arizona.

Thanks to Greg Meyers' (Greg's Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Row 88

Wulfenite and
Mimetite

Golden wulfenite and yellow mimetite thumbnail from the San Francisco Mine, near Magdalena, Sonora, Mexico.

Thanks to Richard Dale's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Wulfenite

A small cabinet plate of chunky tan wulfenites from Mina Ojuela, Mapimi, Durango, Mexico - the closeup shows the zonal coloration.

Thanks to Rory Howell's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Wulfenite

More wulfenites, orange-brown this time, from Los Lamentos, Mexico (miniature).

Thanks to Doug Wahl's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 89

Wulfenite

A miniature of bipyramidal orange wulfenite on tabular brown wulfenite from the famous Los Lamentos Mine, Chihuahua, Mexico.

Thanks to RAM Minerals for the specimen!

Wulfenite

Two beautiful transparent orange wulfies on matrix (miniature) with a little yellow mimetite from the Rawhide Mine, Mohave County, Arizona.

Wulfenite

A miniature with a small but bright orange wulfie (collected in the 1970s) from the famous Loudville Lead Mine in Easthampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts! This locale was profiled in the March / April 2001 edition of Rocks & Minerals. The bottom closeup image shows what appears to be transparent light green acicular cotunnite, lead dichloride (named after D. Cotugno, the Italian anatomist). See my pyromorphite from the same locale.

Thanks to Bob York's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 90

Wulfenite

These bright orange wulfenite microcrystals on a miniature matrix come from Mianning, Sichuan Province, China - supposedly the first wulfies from China!

Thanks to Tony Nikischer at the Excalibur Mineral Company for the specimen!

Wulfenite

This is a beautiful thumbnail of Red Cloud wulfenite - it has yellow massicot (lead monoxide) inclusions and the characteristic interference notch of this locality.

Thanks to Christie & Chuck's (Stone Roses) auction on eBay for the specimen and images!

Wulfenite

A miniature of beautiful lemon-yellow wulfies from the now-closed Stevenson-Bennett Mine, Organ Mountains mining district (near Las Cruces), Dona Ana County, New Mexico.

Thanks to Mark Massis' auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 91

Wulfenite

Another wulfenite thumbnail from the famous Red Cloud Mine, La Paz County, Arizona.

Thanks to Hal & Polly Prior's (H&P Minerals and Gems) auction on eBay for the specimen!

Wulfenite

A couple of dozen Red Cloud wulfies on matrix (miniature) - small but nice!

Thanks to Joseph & Catherine Morris' PhelansFinds auction on eBay for the specimen!

Wulfenite

Green wulfenite's fairly rare - I don't know where this small cabinet cluster of green wulfies on gray limestone is from (possibly Level 5, Mina Ojuela, Mapimi, Durango, Mexico).

Thanks to Violet Ventura's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Row 92

Wulfenite

A beautiful pair of thumbnail wulfies - the orange one's from the Ourd Mekta Mine, Touissit, Oujda, Morocco and the red one's, of course, from Red Cloud.

Thanks to Keith Hayes' (KQ's Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Wulfenite

An excellent dark-brown miniature wulfenite cluster from Tsumeb.

Thanks to Saul Krotki's auction on eBay for the specimen!

Wulfenite

What appears to be a very rare white wulfenite cluster from Ray, Arizona is actually yellow wulfies coated with micro drusy quartz.

Thanks to Ken DeMary's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Row 93

Wulfenite

An excellent miniature of bipyramidal yellow wulfenite crystals on a barite and quartz matrix from the 2003? find at the Mianning - Dechang Metallogenetic Belt, Liangshan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China.

Thanks to Nik Nikiforou's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Wulfenite

This beautiful miniature of millimeter-sized spiky deep-brick-red wulfenite crystals on a quartz and galena matrix is from the early 2007 find in China's Sichuan Province.

Thanks to Brian Kosnar's (Mineral Classics) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!

Xilingolite

A micro of gray xilingolite (lead bismuth sulfide) on quartz from the type locality of the Chaobuleng Mine, Xilinguole Prefecture, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. Monoclinic xilingolite is dimorphous with orthorhombic lillianite.

Thanks to Jake Slagle's Maryland Minerals auction on eBay for the specimen and image!

Row 94

Zinkenite

Another one of the many lead sulfosalts, zinkenite is part of the "feather ores" group - this miniature's from the Antimony Bluff Mine, Gillham, Sevier County, Arkansas. Depending on which field guide you consult, it has two different chemical formulas: Pb9Sb22S42 or Pb6Sb14S27.

Thanks to C. Carter Rich's table at the 2000 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen!

Zinkenite

A miniature of massive purple-tarnished zinkenite from Bridge River, Lillooet Mining Division, British Columbia, Canada. It has a Larner R. Peak tag stating that it was acquired from Sargent in 1948.

Thanks to Kim & Cindy Strange's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!

Zinkenite

An excellent miniature of a jackstraw cluster of iridescent zinkenite needles from the San José Mine, Oruro City, Cercado Province, Oruro Department, Bolivia.

Thanks to Ibrahim Jameel at Khyber Minerals for the specimen and the images!

maintained by: Alan Guisewite

Last Update 28 Feb 2016