Nearby mines in T. West et al. Whitlow and West, a. Mudrey, Galena was found associated with sphalerite, smithsonite, pyrite, marcasite and calcite in the old workings of the Grab Diggings on both sides of the McPherson Branch of the Platte River west of Ellenboro SW sec.
West, et al. Associated minerals include sphalerite, smithsonite, pyrite, marcasite, calcite and cerussite. Some of the many mines include the Beetown and Grant River Diggings sec. West and Heyl, West, et. A number are also described under sphalerite and smithsonite, most of which are also localities for galena, as well as marcasite, pyrite, barite, calcite and dolomite. Only a few of the more notable of the many galena localities in the county may be mentioned.
He also reports galena forming hollow stalactitic masses, often curved, up to 1 cm. These may be elongated parallel to an A4 symmetry axis giving a pseudotetragonal symmetry or parallel to an A3 axis, giving pseudohexagonal symmetry.
These are associated with single cubes up to 7. The galena is found as large cubes associated with drusy quartz, calcite, and goethite pseudomorphs after marcasite and pyrite Heyl et al. Carlson and Adams, Many of the mines listed under sphalerite and smithsonite are also localities for galena, as well as associated marcasite, pyrite, dolomite, barite and calcite.
Only the most prominent and unusual deposits in the county will be mentioned here. This is associated with unusually botryoidal and vuggy sphalerite, as well as normal massive and cubic to cubo-octahedral galena crystals.
Galena was mined at the Kennedy Mine, Sec. These crystals were associated with large calcite xls. Heyl et al. Strong reports galena crystals up to 8 cm. West, It also appears in U. An old shaft has been sunk in this deposit LaBerge and Myers, Brown, , personal communication. DeMatties, The edges of some of the Galena crystals are smooth and not angular with hollows and skeletal growth. The larger Galena crystal is 2. The Sphalerite is deep to light yellow-green with typical resinous luster and striations.
Most of the Sphalerite is twinned on the [] so they appear as if they are stacked like thin books. In fact, if you view this specimen at the right angle you will see that the entire assemblage is one giant crystal 3. There are also some ordinary crystals of Sphalerite with octahedral faces. Handsome specimen of a trio of cubic Galena crystals with a dull coating of Anglesite thank Bob W. Two narrow "rows" of spinel twinned Galena crystals to 6cm long. The crystals are lustrous with a fine silvery color.
Related: The Many Uses of Silver. Smelting metals: Galena is one of the easiest ores to smelt. It can simply be placed in a fire and then lead can be recovered from under the ashes when the fire goes out.
Archaeologists have found evidence that lead was smelted as early as BC in what is now Turkey [1]. Small amounts of silver were refined from lead by the Romans about years ago [2].
Public domain image by Georgius Agricola. Galena is very easy to smelt. If rocks that contain galena are placed in a fire, lead can be collected from below the ashes after the fire burns out. People have taken advantage of this simple smelting for thousands of years. Archaeologists have found lead beads and statues in Turkey that date back to about BC [1].
Lead is probably the first metal to have been processed from an ore. The ancient Romans made lead pipe and used it as indoor plumbing. Plumbum is the Latin word for lead. The word "plumbing" and our use of "Pb" as the chemical symbol for lead come from the ancient Romans. The ancient Greeks and Romans were able to separate silver from lead about years ago [2].
Many of the Roman lead ingots were inscribed "Ex Arg" or "Ex Argent" to signify that the silver had been removed from the lead.
The Greeks were able to desilver lead to a 0. It is surprising that they were able to realize that the lead contained silver and amazing that they were able to develop such an efficient method of refining! Galena weathers easily. Fresh surfaces of galena tarnish rapidly from a silver metallic luster to a dull gray to dull black color. When exposed to the elements or buried in soil, galena quickly weathers to anglesite, cerussite, pyromorphite, or another lead mineral.
These minerals are often used in prospecting. When they are found at the surface, they often reveal that galena is present below. The best way to learn about minerals is to study with a collection of small specimens that you can handle, examine, and observe their properties. Inexpensive mineral collections are available in the Geology. The planet Venus has an inhospitable environment where volcanoes vent superheated gases into the atmosphere. Sulfur and lead are among the gases erupted from the volcanoes on Venus.
They remain in the gaseous phase until they are high enough in the atmosphere to condense. In , researchers at Washington University in St. Louis provided plausible evidence that "heavy metal snow" - which is most likely a combination of lead sulfide galena and bismuth sulfide - falls on the higher elevations of Venus [4].
Galena crystal radio: One of the most interesting uses of galena was in early crystal radios. The operation of these radios required alternating current to be converted into a pulsing direct current. For that to occur, a semiconductor material was used to limit the flow of electricity to one direction.
The alternating current flowed through a wire, known as a cat's whisker, into a semiconductor crystal, which was usually a crystal of galena, which only allowed flow in a single direction.
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