Preface
This
month, we are scoping out another green mineral favorite: Pyromorphite.
From the
Greek "fire form", it crystallizes in the lab after melting.
Introduction
Welcome to
another Mineral Picfest!
This month, we
are featuring Pyromorphite, a lead phosphate with some Chlorine attached.
Collectors from around the world and in our club's own collecting area delight in the
greenish
hexagonal crystals. Enjoy!
A lead carbonate with chlorine, this
secondary mineral boasts generally well-formed hexagonal
crystals of green to yellow to brown in color. It forms from lead deposits as an
alteration product.
It shares a series with Mimetite (lead
chloride arsenate) and Vanadinte (lead chloride vanadinate). Sometimes appearing in
druzes, a field specimen my share characteristics of both minerals in the
series. So, be careful in handling; and, do not eat this mineral. Like this,
most minerals are
poisonous.
There are really no uses other than to be
studied and displayed by collectors.
It occurs all around the world. In
fact, our club's local collecting area includes a locale in our
southeastern Pennsylvania area.
A good reference site is: www.mindat.org/min-3320html.
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Closeup
of lime green Pyromorphite crystals
Mina San Andres, Cordoba, Spain |
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Orange,
green, and yellow Pyromorphite crystals
Les Farges, Ussel, France |
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Sharp
orange-yellow hexagonals of Pyromorphite
Bunker Hill Mine, Kellogg, Idaho
(ex Nelson Collection) |
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Bright
green Pyromorphite barrels on Barite matrix
Les Farges, Ussel, Correze, France
(ex Nelson Collection) |
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Light
brown Pyromorphite branches
Bad Ems, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
(ex Nelson Collection) |
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Bright
green botryoidal Pyromorphite thumbnail
Mexico Mine, Caldbeck Fells, Cumbria, England
(ex Nelson Collection) |
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Vuggy
bright green Pyromorphite crystals
Geoda del Tunel, San Andres Mine, Villaviciosa de Cordoba, Spain
(ex Nelson Collection)
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Olive
green Pyromorphite barrels on Barite matrix
Les Farges, Ussel, France
(Zinn Collection) |
| Photos
above courtesy of and by Isaias Casanova, IC Minerals
©2006 Photos below courtesy of and by Stan Celestian, Glendale
Community College ©2006
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| Pyromorphite
Crystals, unknown locale |
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Pyromorphite
Crystals, unknown locale |
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| Pyromorphite
Crystals, unknown locale |
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Pyromorphite
Crystals, unknown locale |
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Links
The Mineral
Pyromorphite (Mineral Galleries)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyromorphite
Pyromorphite from the Albert
Chapman Mineral Collection, Australian Museum
Penn Minerals Wheatley Mine
Pyromorphite Collection
Uses
Mainly, Pyromorphite is
used in scientific study, as a geological indicator of the presence
of lead deposits, and for the delight of collectors and museums to display.
Here is where DMS Members can add their
Pyromorphite photos to share with us.
Until Next Time
We hope you have enjoyed our all too short visit to
Pyromorphite. Please join us next month,
for another Picfest!
Until then, stay safe, and happy collecting. 
Article Contributors
I would like to gratefully acknowledge the generous
contributions of our fellow variscite
enthusiasts,
collectors, authors, curators, professionals, and club members who made this
work possible. Thanks.
Stan Celestian, Earth Sciences Department, Glendale Community College, Glendale, Arizona
© 2006 All contributions to this
article are covered under the copyright protection of this article
and by separate and several copyright protection(s), and are to be used for the sole
purposes of
enjoying this scholarly article. They are used gratefully with express written
permission of the
authors, save for generally-accepted scholarly quotes, short in nature, deemed legal to
reference
with the appropriate citation and credit. Reproduction of this article must
be obtained by express
written permission of the author, Kenneth B. Casey, for his contributions, authoring,
photos, and
graphics. Use of all other credited materials requires permission of each
contributor separately.
Links and general contact information are included in the credits above,
and throughout this article.
The advice offered herein are only suggestions; it is the reader's charge to use the
information
contained herein responsibly. DMS is not responsible for misuse or
accidents caused from this
article. All opinions, theories, proofs, and views expressed within this article, and in
others on this
website, do not necessarily reflect the views of the Delaware Mineralogical Society.
Suggested Reading
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About
the Author: Ken is current webmaster of the Delaware
Mineralogical Society. He has a diploma in
Jewelry Repair, Fabrication & Stonesetting from the Bowman Technical School,
Lancaster, PA, and worked as jeweler. He has
also studied geology at the University of Delaware. And,
he is currently a member of the Delaware Mineralogical Society and the Franklin-Ogdensburg
Mineralogical Society. E-mail: kencasey98@yahoo.com.
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