NATIVE Lead with PYROCHROITE - Långban Mine, Värmland County, Sweden

NATIVE Lead with PYROCHROITE

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Although L'ngban mine has 314 recorded mineral species and is type locality to 76, it is for its Native Lead most collectors are familiar with this locality. Because we are so familiar with lead as common product, especially when lead pipes were in use, it is easy to forget just how rare a mineral it is in native form. Lead readily combines to form oxides, sulphides and carbonates, so the rich deposits found at L'ngban are fairly unique. A matrix of peachy-cream Quartzite has its upper sloping surface richly covered in thick gnarled ribbons of Native Lead of up to 4.5 cm long with a largely light grey-white surface alteration product. Quite often such coverings of Native Lead are brittle and fragile, but this certainly does not apply here with its robust and chunky structure. The manganese hydroxide, Pyrochroite, forms matt, sooty black platelets to a few millimetres over the surface of the matrix. A splendid large miniature/small cabinet specimen of Native Lead from the complex skarn and pegmatite deposits at L'ngban in Filipstad, V'rmland County, Sweden.