Galena with Cerussite

This sizable and hefty 8 x 7 x 2.7 cm lustrous block of Galena is from the famous Millclose mine in Darley Dale, Derbyshire, a locality just north west of the town of Matlock. In its heyday this was an enormous mine by Derbyshire standards and although the extensive dumps have been essentially barren for many decades, over the years many fine specimens have been produced. This good example shows a cleaved block of bright metallic, silver Galena, all of whose outer narrow edges are encrusted with small, colourless Cerussite crystals. This specimen was in the personal collection of Richard W. Barstow and comes with his white label, plus the previous collector’s label.