Galena

By: Catherine Matta

Characteristics

Chemistry: PbS, Lead Sulfide

Class: Sulfides

Group: Galena

Uses: Major ore of lead and silver

Physical Properties
Color: Lead to silver gray sometimes with a bluish tint.

Luster: Metallic to dull in weathered faces.

Transparency: Crystals are opaque.

Crystal System: Isometric; 4/m bar 3 2/m

Crystal Habits: The cube, octahedron and combinations of the two. Spinel twinning is possible forming flattened crystals. Also
massive and granular.

Cleavage: Perfect in four direction forming cubes.

Fracture: Uneven and rarely seen because of the perfect cleavage.

Hardness: 2.5+

Specific Gravity: Approximately 7.5+ (heavy even for metallic minerals)

Associated Minerals: Calcite, dolomite, sphalerite,

pyrite and other sulfide minerals, also lead
oxidation minerals such as cerussite and anglesite.

Streak: Lead gray

Other Characteristics: Brighter metallic luster on

cleavage surfaces than on crystal faces.
Associated Minerals: Calcite, dolomite, sphalerite, pyrite and other sulfide minerals, also lead oxidation minerals such as
cerussite and anglesite.

Best Field Indicators: Crystal habit, cleavage and,

perhaps most importantly, density.

Other Characteristics: Brighter metallic luster on cleavage surfaces than on crystal faces.

Best Field Indicators: Crystal habit, cleavage and, perhaps most importantly, density.

Where is it found?

Galena deposits are found worldwide in various environments. Noted deposits

include those at Freiberg, Saxony; Cornwall, The Mendips, Somerset, Derbyshire,
and Cumberland, England; the Madan, Smolyan Province, Rhodope Mountains,
Bulgaria; the Sullivan Mine of British Columbia; and Broken Hill and Australia. Galena
also occurs at Mount Hermon in Northern Israel. In the United States, it occurs most
notably in the Mississippi Valley type deposits of the Lead Belt in southeastern
Missouri, and in the Driftless Area of Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. The economic
importance of galena to the early history of the Driftless Area was so great that one of
the towns in the region was named Galena, Illinois.

How is it used?
Ore of lead
Batteries

Used to help with plumbing.

Lead sheets, pipe and shot.

low melting point alloys

How is it mined and does it affect our

environment?

Since galena is really easy to break, it needs to be mined carefully. Environmental

concern with lead poisoning, (and cheaper unleaded petrol prices) is slowly
resulting in less use of lead in petrol. As the mining is done carefully, there is no
issue with the galena, but the fact that galena causes poising is bad.

Interesting Facts about

Galena
Galena is the best ore of lead to be found.
Galena can be found everywhere!
Galena is not one of the strongest minerals, you could break easily.
The name Galena comes from the Latin word "galena" which means "lead ore".
One of the oldest uses of galena was as kohl, which in Ancient Egypt, was applied around
the eyes to reduce the glare of the desert sun and to repel flies, which were a potential
source of disease.
Galena was used as a solder used by the Romans for plumbing.
It is $6.00 per pound.