GARNET GALENA

GARNET GALENA

A stunning small specimen Garnet Galena Crystal Cluster.  There is a prominent Garnet Crystal at the front with more than a few Crystals on the side of a Galena Crystal Matrix.  A classic Aussie mineral & location, great as a specimen for display.  Lovely colours and interesting geometric crystal forms.

Location:
Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia.

Dimensions:
2.9cm x 2cm x 1.6cm, 15g.

Garnet: Fe₃²⁺Al₂(SiO₄)_3.

Named in 77-79 by Pliny the Elder.  They form under the high temperatures and pressures.  Garnets can be used by geologists as a gauge of how much temperature and pressure a rock has been in to form.  As a gemstone, garnets have had a mixed reputation. Garnets do possess high indices of refraction, are hard enough, have pretty colors, are wonderfully transparent, lack cleavage and are durable. Making good candidates for a gemstone. Many people consider garnets to be inferior to other colored gems. This may be due to garnet’s abundance, widespread use and low price.  Garnets are greatly variable in colors and varieties and many of these are beautiful gemstones.  Some garnets are truly unique in the mineral kingdom and have much to offer as both gemstones and mineral specimens.  They are the January Birthstone.

Galena: PbS, Lead Sulfide.

Galena is the primary ore mineral of lead and and ore of Silver. Worked for its lead content as early as 3000 BC.  Found in ore veins with sphalerite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, tennantite-tetrahedrite and skarns.  Also found in sedimentary rocks where it may replace carbonate beds or be deposited in pore spaces.  The crystals are bright when fresh but often tarnish when people touch them.  Lead sulfide may contain impurities, such as silver, arsenic, antimony, and copper.

Check out more Galena Specimens for sale here