Galena on Quartz

A rare specimen of crystallised Galena on Quartz from Padstow Consols, an old mine by the coast, just over 2 km northwest of Padstow in Cornwall, England.  Surprisingly, given Cornwall’s rich and diverse mineralogy, specimens of crystallised Galena are a rare commodity.  A note accompanying this specimen, dated 27 July 2005, states it was collected from a rock on the beach adjacent to the mine.  Dull lead grey cubic crystals of Galena up to 2 cm on edge cover one end of a milky Quartz-Galena veinstone. Small stubby colourless Quartz crystals surround the Galena and in the base several square sections of embedded Galena are visible.