anglesite

Tabular and well-formed crystals of colourless anglesite (to 50 mm), loosely intergrown, but heavily included, largely by goethite (?) or other iron oxides. A little "matrix" material consisting mainly of residual galena, goethite and sub-mm prisms of mimetite (also coloured by iron oxides) is present and is partly intergrown with the anglesite crystals. Under the microscope, sparse spherules (sub mm) of dark green malachite are visible on the matrix.

The specimen was originally in the colletion of TCL mineralogist John Innes; it is registered as JI-492 in the E.H. Nickel catalogue of the Innes collection (circa 1993, unpublished), which describes it as follows: "A cluster of anglesite crystals, from colourless to reddish brown, the largest of which is 45 x 35 x 10 mm. The reddish brown colour is apparently due to ferruginous inclusions. Interstitial and intergrown ferruginous matrix".

After Innes's death the specimen was acquired by Blair Gartrell (# 11645). Gartrell's collection was purchased by Rob Sielecki (Ausrox), from whom this specimen was acquired by Ian Strachan in 1995.

galena; goethite (?); malachite; mimetite