Cerussite

specimen number:
1052304

location:
Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia

description:
Bladed and twinned crystals of cerussite very rich across the top of matrix. Some damage present not atypical of these, this is still very fine. The specimen comes with an antique label as shown at the end of the video and dates to the very early days of mining at this famous locality. Mining at Broken Hill in New South Wales, Australia began in 1883 after the discovery of a massive lead zinc silver orebody that became one of the richest base metal deposits in the world. The deposit is hosted in highly metamorphosed sedimentary rocks and was developed by underground methods that supported rapid growth of the town and the formation of major companies including Broken Hill Proprietary, later known as BHP. For more than a century the district produced large quantities of silver, lead, and zinc and became a cornerstone of the Australian mining industry. Although large scale mining has declined from its peak years, Broken Hill remains an important historic and mineral collecting locality recognized for its economic and geological significance.

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