Mineral
Galena
PbS · Sulfuros
Galena is a lead sulphide, PbS, the principal lead ore and one of the most common sulphides.
It forms cubic or octahedral crystals and also occurs as compact masses. It shows metallic lead-grey lustre. It is dense, opaque, and has irregular fracture. Cleavage is marked.
In the Linares district it typically occurs as cubic crystals, associated with cerussite, barite, or sphalerite. At Trepča, it crystallises first as a sulphide phase in hydrothermal cavities of the Pb–Zn–Ag system; a late carbonate phase of calcite lines the edges and forms the cresting. It is closely linked to the mining and industrial history of the area. Classic paragenesis of Corta de San Valentín.
Etymology
From the Latin "galena", a term already used by Pliny the Elder for lead minerals, a name that has been retained to this day for lead sulphide (PbS).
Specimens in the collection (8)
- Galena — Coto La Cruz, Linares, Jaén, Andalucía, España № 0000
- Galena (Cubo con aristas redondeadas) — Coto La Cruz, Linares, Jaén, Andalucía, España № 0040
- Galena — Stan Terg Mine (Stari Trg), Trepča Complex, Mitrovica, Mitrovica District, Kosovo № 0189
- Galena — Minas de Madan, Madan, Smolyan, Bulgaria № 0308
- Galena — Corta de San Valentín, La Unión, Cartagena, Región de Murcia, España № 0445
- Galena — Mina Botieva, Smolyan, Smolyan Oblast, Bulgaria № 0446
- Galena — La Unión, Murcia, España № 0530
- Galena — Corta Carlés Norte, Carlés, Salas, Asturias, España № 0623