Pyromorphite
“Lead phosphate in barrel-shaped crystals”
Pyromorphite is a lead chlorophosphate mineral known for its bright green, yellow, or brown barrel-shaped hexagonal crystals. It forms in the oxidation zones of lead ore deposits and was once used as a lead ore itself, though today it's primarily valued as a spectacular collector's mineral.
lead chlorophosphate (Pb₅(PO₄)₃Cl)
Bad Ems (Germany), Bunker Hill Mine (Idaho, USA), Les Farges (France), Broken Hill (New South Wales), Mapimí (Mexico), Roughton Gill (England)
3.5-4
Pyromorphite's name means 'fire form' in Greek because when melted and recrystallized, it forms distinctive crystal shapes — alchemists studied it hoping it might hold the secret to transmuting lead into gold.
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