TERRIUM — A mineralogy cabinet


Cerusita

Cerusita is a mineral with formula PbCO₃, in the Carbonatos group. This specimen comes from Filón Sur, Tharsis, Huelva, Andalucía, España and joined the Terrium collection in 2018.

Cerusita from Filón Sur, Tharsis, Huelva, Andalucía, España — Terrium

Description

Large piece mainly of earthy limonite, with a geode lined with cerussite crystals of short-prismatic habit, well defined, translucent, and with vitreous lustre.

History of this specimen

Extracted in 2018 by Diego Navarro after long hours of searching in a Filón Sur already much degraded. I note it has its own FMF record, which reinforces its traceability: https://www.foro-minerales.com/forum/download.php?id=12077

About Cerusita

Cerussite is a lead carbonate. It commonly forms prismatic, tabular or acicular crystals. It is usually translucent, with vitreous lustre and colours ranging from colourless to grey. It is relatively frequent in the oxidised zones of lead deposits.

About the locality

The Filón Sur at Tharsis, noted for its historic mining, produced excellent cerussites in cavities rich in iron oxides. At present, extracting aesthetic specimens is difficult owing to the razed state of the deposit.

Technical data

Catalogue No.
0489
Internal reference
T0144
Composition
PbCO₃
Name
Cerusita
Group
Carbonatos
Category
Cavella
Matrix
Matriz limonítica
Mine
Filón Sur
District / Municipality
Tharsis
Province
Huelva
Region
Andalucía
Country
España
Size (cm)
8.5 x 6.5 x 3.5
Weight
230 g
Acquired
2018
Ex-collection
Diego Navarro
Etymology
From Latin "cerussa" ("white lead"), in reference to the historical use of the mineral as a pigment.
Quality
Buena
Value trend
Estable

Related specimens

← Back to Terrium catalogue