Pyromorphite (Pb₅(PO₄)₃Cl) is one of China’s most iconic collector minerals. Vivid green to yellow-green hexagonal prisms form barrel-shaped clusters in oxidized lead deposits. Daoping Mine in Guangxi is the world’s premier source of large, gemmy specimens with electric apple-green color.
Key Facts
- Mohs hardness 3.5–4.
- Hexagonal prismatic crystals, often barrel-shaped or rounded.
- Color ranges from yellow-brown to vivid grass-green; the famous “apple green” Chinese material is rare elsewhere.
- Forms in the oxidized zone of lead ore deposits.
- Member of the apatite group (with mimetite, vanadinite).
Notable Chinese Localities
Daoping Mine and Yangshuo (Guangxi) produce world-class apple-green clusters. Huanggang (Inner Mongolia) and Yaogangxian (Hunan) yield smaller specimens.
Found at these Localities
- Mibladen Mining District (米布拉登铅矿区)
- Broken Hill (布罗肯希尔铅锌银矿)
- Cornwall Mining District (康沃尔矿区)
- Lavrion (Laurium) (拉夫里翁古铅锌银矿)
- Dundas Mineral Field (丹达斯矿区)
- Daoping Mine (道平铅锌矿)
- Huanggang Mine (黄岗梁铁锡矿)
- Yaogangxian Mine (瑶岗仙矿)
- Inner Mongolia (内蒙古)
- Guangxi (广西)
- Hunan (湖南)
Available Products of Pyromorphite
3 available specimens
