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Galena crystal
Q. Wight sp.
Photo by Violet Anderson
© Royal Ontario Museum
Galena crystals
© Doug Merson
Galena crystals
© Bill Lechner
PbS
Galena is fairly widespread in all environments at MSH. It forms the substrate for several secondary minerals such as anglesite, cerussite, hydrocerussite and wulfenite.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
Color is usually lead-gray.
Luster is metallic.
Diaphaneity is opaque.
Crystal System is isometric; Fm
Crystal Habits include crystalline masses to several centimeters
and sharp cubes or cuboctahedrons to 10mm.
Cleavage {001} is perfect.
Fracture is subconchoidal.
Hardness is 2.5
Specific Gravity is approximately 7.6 g/cm
Streak is lead-gray.
Associated Minerals include aegirine, albite, amphibole group,
analcime, ancylite, apophyllite series, astrophyllite, biotite, calcite,
catapleiite, cerussite, eudialyte, fluorapatite, fluorite, microcline,
natrolite, polylithionite, rhodochrosite, siderite, sphalerite
and wulfenite. Distinguishing Features: Crystal habit, color and luster.
Origin: Known from antiquity, comes from the Latin galena
lead ore or dross from melted lead.
CLASSIFICATION:
Dana System
# 2.8.1.1
Strunz Classification
# II/C.15-40
REFERENCES:
MinRec 21:311 (1990), Dana 8:64-65 (1997)
DISTRIBUTION AND RARITY AT MONT SAINT-HILAIRE:
MSH
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Galena crystal
2cm x 1.7cm
© Gilles Haineault