GALENA
Specimen gal-22
$ 27.00Dims: 3.4" x 2.6" x 1.7" (8.6 x 6.6 x 4.3 cm)
Wt: 9.52 oz. (270.1 g)
Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico
This hand specimen consists mostly of a large but indeterminate number of intergrown Galena crystals. These crystals have what appears to be a cubo-octahedral form, but their intergrowth is so intense that most of their shapes are nearly indefinable. There is only a small amount of damage visible along the edges of the Galena formation, and all of the "crystals" have a moderately dark gray color and a rather dull metallic luster. Portions of this formation are covered with an extremely thin coating of a dull brownish-gold material that is likely chalcopyrite. There are several black sphalerite crystals among the Galena formation, which dominates one side of the piece. The other side of the piece is dominated by a formation of heavily-intergrown chalcopyrites that do not exceed 0.1" (3 mm). They have the standard deep golden color and metallic luster of chalcopyrite, and are also heavily intergrown.