Pyromorphite
High-end Mineral Specimens
Pyromorphite is a lead chlorophosphate in the apatite mineral group. It forms dense crusts or bright green, yellow, brown, and orange hexagonal prisms, often with rounded barrel-like faces, as a secondary mineral in oxidized lead deposits.
Identity
- Material or variety
- Pyromorphite
- Scientific or material identity
- Pyromorphite
- Classification
- Natural mineral or mineral variety
- Aliases or trade names
- Green lead ore
- Composition or formula
- Pb₅(PO₄)₃Cl
- Crystal system or structure
- Hexagonal
- Geological or manufacturing origin
- Can form in more than one geological environment, or combines several materials.
- Mohs hardness
- 3.5 to 4
Origins
China · France · USA
Appearance & optical properties
vivid green pyromorphite with barrel-shaped habit.
History & discovery
Martin Heinrich Klaproth chemically distinguished it from other lead minerals in 1784. Johann Friedrich Ludwig Hausmann named pyromorphite in 1813 from Greek words for fire and form, referring to crystals that can reform after the mineral is melted.
Uses & care
- Common uses
- Its vivid crystals are prized mainly as mineral specimens. Transparent material is scarce and only rarely faceted; sufficiently rich deposits have also been worked as minor lead ore.
- Handling and cleaning
- Pyromorphite is soft, brittle, and lead-bearing. Handle intact specimens gently, avoid grinding or making dust, wash hands afterward, and keep them away from food and children; use a dry soft brush rather than steam or ultrasonic cleaning.
Jewellery
5 pieces of Pyromorphite jewellery. Learners earn each one in DigMyGem by learning words; until then it shows as a silhouette.
Green Baron Ring
Ring
A ring set with a raw spray of apple-green pyromorphite crystals, caged in silver so the mineral keeps its natural form. It is a cabinet specimen turned jewel.
Moss Barrel Pendant
Pendant
A pendant built around a hollow pocket of pyromorphite, its cactus-green barrels peering from a gold setting. The stone's colour is rarely seen in fine jewellery.
Lead of the Glen Brooch
Brooch
A brooch of tiered pyromorphite crystals in green and honey yellow, arranged in a spray around a dark gold centre. It celebrates the lead ore's buried garden.
Spring Barrel Earrings
Earrings
An imagined pair of earrings, each a single barrel-shaped pyromorphite crystal in the fresh green of new spring grass.
Green Barrel Tiara
Tiara
An imagined silver tiara set with barrel-shaped pyromorphite crystals in the fresh green of spring grass.