Pyromorphite
Species
Uncommon · Pb₅(PO₄)₃Cl
Lead phosphate of oxidised lead veins, in barrel-shaped green to orange prisms. It takes its name from the way a fused bead recrystallises into a faceted shape as it cools.
Identity
- Formula
- Pb₅(PO₄)₃Cl
- Chemical class
- Phosphate
- Mineral group
- Apatite, Mimetite, Vanadinite
- Also known as
- Green lead ore
- Ore of
- Lead
Crystallography
- Crystal system
- Hexagonal
- Habits
- Prismatic, Botryoidal, Drusy, Granular
- Fracture
- Uneven
Physical properties
- Mohs hardness
- 4
- Density
- 7.04 g/cm³
- Luster
- Adamantine, Resinous
- Colors
- green, yellow, brown, grayish white, yellowish red
- Streak
- white
- Transparency
- Transparent, Translucent
Geology
- Origins
- Hydrothermal
- Associated minerals
- Galena, Cerussite, Mimetite, Quartz
- Found in
- Oxidized zone (gossan)
- Geography
- Germany, China, France
Classification
- Rarity
- Uncommon
- Gem quality
- No
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.
- Pyromorphite. Mindat.org (Hudson Institute of Mineralogy).
- J. W. Anthony, R. A. Bideaux, K. W. Bladh, M. C. Nichols, Pyromorphite. Mineral Data Publishing, Handbook of Mineralogy, 2001.
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