Formula: PbS

Species: Sulfides

Colour: Lead-grey

Lustre: Metallic, Sub-Metallic, Dull

Hardness: 2½

Specific Gravity: 7.60

Crystal System: Isometric

Member of: Galena Group

Name: Named by Pliny the Elder in 77-79 from the Greek “galene” meaning “lead ore”.

Galena is the primary ore mineral of lead. Worked for its lead content as early as 3000 BC, it is found in ore veins with sphalerite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, tennantite-tetrahedrite, etc. and in skarns, as well as in sedimentary rocks where it may replace carbonate beds or be deposited in pore spaces. The crystals are bright when fresh but often tarnish after exposure to air.