Anglesite
Species
Common · PbSO₄
Lead sulfate, formed where galena weathers in the upper parts of lodes, often in banded crusts round a core of galena. Recognised as a species by William Withering in 1783 at the Parys copper mine on Anglesey. Usually a minor companion of galena and cerussite, it has been mined as a lead ore where it forms large masses, in Australia and Mexico. Colourless crystals with an adamantine lustre are sometimes cut as gems.
Identity
- Formula
- PbSO₄
- Chemical class
- Sulfate
- Ore of
- Lead
Crystallography
- Crystal system
- Orthorhombic
- Habits
- Prismatic, Tabular, Nodular, Massive, Granular
- Fracture
- Conchoidal
Physical properties
- Mohs hardness
- 2.5
- Density
- 6.38 g/cm³
- Luster
- Adamantine, Resinous, Vitreous
- Colors
- colorless, white, gray, yellow, orange, green, blue
- Streak
- white
- Transparency
- Transparent, Translucent, Opaque
Geology
- Origins
- Sedimentary
- Associated minerals
- Galena, Cerussite, Malachite, Mimetite, Pyromorphite, Wulfenite, Gypsum, Sulfur
- Found in
- Oxidized zone (gossan)
- Geography
- Wales (Parys Mountain, Anglesey), Italy (Monteponi, Sardinia), Scotland (Leadhills), Morocco (Touissit), Namibia (Tsumeb), Australia (Broken Hill), Mexico (Los Lamentos)
Classification
- Rarity
- Common
- Gem quality
- Yes
Sources
- M. Pasero and others, IMA Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification, The New IMA List of Minerals, updated September 2026. International Mineralogical Association (CNMNC), 2026.
- J. W. Anthony, R. A. Bideaux, K. W. Bladh, M. C. Nichols, Anglesite. Mineral Data Publishing, Handbook of Mineralogy, 2001.
- Anglesite. Wikipedia.
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