Cerussite

Lead carbonate: brilliant, heavy white crystals that often twin into lattices and six-rayed stars.

Cerussite specimen — Photo: Ivar Leidus, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How to identify cerussite

Very heavy for a white mineral.
Diamond-like luster.
Lattice-like or star-shaped twinned crystals.

Often confused with

Barite
Barite is lighter and less brilliant.
Compare side by side
Anglesite
Anglesite doesn't fizz in acid.
Compare side by side

Where it's found

Tsumeb, Namibia
Touissit, Morocco
Arizona

Uses

Lead ore; historically the pigment lead white.

Rock tumbling

Not suitable for tumbling. Contains lead.

Did you know?

Its name comes from Latin cerussa, 'white lead'.

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