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What is it and where is it
formed? Galena is the main ore of lead and
silver. It is a combination of lead and sulfur. Galena is found combined with
zinc,
copper, and silver. It
is sometimes considered a by-product of the mining of the other minerals. When the ore is
melted, it makes lead. It is formed in the earth’s crust in hot water veins.
Galena is found in
igneous and
sedimentary rocks. |
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How and where is it mined?
Galena is found with
underground mining.
It is found in the U.S.A [Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri], Germany, Peru, Mexico, Zambia, and England. |
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What is it used for?
Galena is used in things that are made of lead. Some of these things are:
bullets, batteries, gasoline, paint, and welding solder. Lead used to be put
in paint, dishes, and cups until it was found that it was poisonous when it
was swallowed. Sometimes kids would chew on painted things because
lead gave the paint a sweet taste. This would make the kids really
sick so it isn’t used for this anymore. |
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Johannes Gutenberg made the letters in his printing press
out of lead. |
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Mineral Characteristic |
What the
mineralogists say |
Kid's Guide: What it REALLY
means! |
| Chemical Symbol |
PbS |
It has lead and sulfur in it. |
| Color |
Silver or gray. Some darker. |
These are the two normal colors of the mineral. |
| Streak |
Lead gray |
If
you crushed galena, its dust would be a dull gray. No matter what
galena sample you crush, it would be dull gray. That’s how they
identify a mineral by color. |
| Transparency |
Opaque |
Light will not pass through this mineral. You can’t see through it. |
| Luster |
Metallic |
If
you shine a light on it, galena will shine like metal. |
| Cleavage |
Perfect in 4 directions. |
If
it is broken, it breaks into even cubes. Each time it is broken, it
will do the same. |
| Fracture |
Uneven and not seen often |
Because it breaks evenly in cleavage, it doesn’t shatter or fracture
when it is broken. |
| Magnetism |
None |
It will not attract, or be attracted to, a magnet. |
| Hardness |
2.5 |
This mineral is really soft. You can scratch it with a penny. |
| Specific gravity |
7.5 |
Even though it is soft, it is very heavy. If you were to hold a
piece
of this, you would feel that it was very heavy compared to its size. |
| Crystal Shape |
Cubic |
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Romans used lead to make the pipes that carried water into
Rome. |
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Links:
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Crystal with cubic galena in it. |
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Printer
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Citations: Fuller,
Sue. Rocks & Minerals. London: Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
“The Mineral Galena.” 24 Oct. 2005. <http://mineral.galleries.com/minerals/sulfides/galena/galena.htm>.
Pellant,
Chris. Rocks and Minerals. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 1992.
Zim, Herbert S. Rocks and
minerals: a guide to familiar minerals, gems, ores and rocks. New York: Golden Press, 1957.
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