Pyromorphite is a mineral species composed of
lead chlorophosphate: Pb
5(PO
4)
3Cl, sometimes occurring in sufficient abundance to be mined as an
ore of lead. First distinguished chemically by
Martin Heinrich Klaproth in 1784, it was named pyromorphite by
Johann Friedrich Ludwig Hausmann in 1813. It is usually green, yellow or brown in color, with a resinous
lustre.
Crystals are common and have the form of a hexagonal prism terminated by the
basal planes, sometimes combined with narrow faces of a hexagonal pyramid. Other forms include crystals with a barrel-like curvature and globular or reniform masses. Pyromorphite is part of the
apatite group of minerals and bears a close resemblance physically and chemically with two other minerals,
mimetite and
vanadinite. This
focus-stacked photograph, merged from 26 separate images, shows a sample of pyromorphite extracted from the Resuperferolitica Mine in
Santa Eufemia, in the Spanish province of
Córdoba. The sample measures 3.5 cm × 3.0 cm × 1.5 cm (1.38 in × 1.18 in × 0.59 in).
Photograph credit: David Ifar
