NATIVE Lead in Hausmannite - Långban Mine, Värmland County, Sweden

NATIVE Lead in Hausmannite

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Native Lead, or natural lead metal, is really rare. Långban mine at Filipstad, Sweden is perhaps the best known source but samples are still not seen very often. This fascinating specimen heralds from David Hardman's collection in England. Its background is an old one, as it is accompanied by a Lythe Minerals label from Leicester, England, dating to the early 1970s. This label records the precise locality as "Bulgarien Stope, 150 metre Level" indicating that it was probably extracted a little earlier than that date. The Native Lead is dispersed in several veinlets cutting through manganese ore - Hausmannite. The main veinlet forms the entire top surface of the specimen as it has been split in 'plan' view. The Native Lead metal is tarnished to a dull dark grey colour and in places shows oxidation to white powder. A very rich Swedish Native Lead.