Crocoita
Crocoita is a mineral with formula PbCrO₄, in the Cromatos group. This specimen comes from Adelaide Mine, Dundas, Zeehan, Tasmania, Australia.
Description
Irregular ferruginous mass, dense and highly mineralised, covered by orange-red crocoite crystals, lustrous and intergrown, crosscutting. Areas of black, lustrous, lamellar goethite contrast with bundles and short needles of crocoite scattered over several faces.
About Crocoita
Lead chromate (PbCrO₄), sensitive to prolonged light exposure and to harsh environmental conditions. The finest specimens in the world come from Tasmania.
About the locality
Mined since the 19th century and now turned into invaluable mineralogical heritage, the historic Red Lead Mine in Dundas is world-famous for producing the most spectacular crocoites ever discovered. Although this deposit is virtually exhausted today, its dazzling legacy endures thanks to the efforts of collectors like Shane Schreiber, who were responsible for rescuing many of the extraordinary specimens that made it famous. Towards the end of the 19th century, Dundas experienced a boom as a silver mining town (lead and argentiferous galena). The first prospectors and miners arrived there in the 1880s. At one point, the population reached 1,081 census-registered people, only 76 of whom were women.
Technical data
- Catalogue No.
- 0642
- Composition
- PbCrO₄
- Name
- Crocoita
- Group
- Cromatos
- Matrix
- Goethita
- Mine
- Adelaide Mine
- District / Municipality
- Dundas
- Province
- Zeehan
- Region
- Tasmania
- Country
- Australia
- Size (cm)
- 5.5 x 3.5 x 3.5
- Etymology
- Named for its colour, from the Greek "krokos" (κρόκος), "saffron".
- Quality
- Buena
- Value trend
- Estable