Cochise College          Photos of Minerals

                          Geology Home Page                

                          Roger Weller, geology instructor

                          [email protected]
                                  copyright 2006-R.Weller
 

Mineral Information on:
wulfenite

Chemical Group:    molybdate

Chemical Formula:    PbMoO₄

Color: orange-yellow, orange, bright red, olive green, yellow, gray, brown

Streak:  white                       Luster:  resinous to adamantine

Hardness:  2.75 to 3            Specific Gravity:  6.7 to 7.0                 

Fracture:  subconchoidal

Cleavage:  on (111) direction, very smooth

Crystal Forms:  Tetragonal system (hemimorphic)
     Crystals are commonly square tabular,  often very thin.

Mineral Associations:

Identifying Characteristics:  Crystals range from yellow to red, thins square crystals.

Uses:

Occurrences: Wulfenite is found in the oxidation zone above lead and zinc deposits.
USA OCCURRENCES:
Arizona
         Red Cloud Mine, Yuma
         Old Yuma Mine, Tucson Mountains, Tucson

WORLD-WIDE OCCURRENCES:
Mexico
         Mina de San Francisco mine, Magdalena, Sonora
         Los Lamentos, Chihuahua
Yugoslavia
         Meis
Mamibia
         Tsumeb

Toxicity:      when-swallowed- very high       when inhaled- very high

Additional Information:  Can be destroyed with hydrochloric acid, so do not use this chemical for cleaning specimens.