Galena

Galena is the major ore of lead, and has been mined and worked since ancient times, e.g. the Romans used lead for weights, coins, vases, plumbing. Galena, a sulphide mineral, contains up to 86% lead, and may contain up to 1% silver. The large volume of galena that is processed for lead produces enough silver as a by-product to also make galena the leading ore of silver. Galena is a natural semiconductor at room temperature.

Galena can be found in hydrothermal veins, as irregular masses in limestones, in zones of contact metamorphism, and disseminated in igneous and sedimentary rocks.

Chemical composition - PbS
Hardness - 2.5
Specific gravity - 7.5
Transparency - Opaque
Colour - Lead grey to silver grey
Streak - Lead grey
Lustre - Metallic (brighter on cleavage surfaces than on crystal faces)
Cleavage/fracture - Perfect in 3 directions forming cubes / uneven (rare due to perfect cleavage)
Crystal habit/mode of occurrence - Prismatic (cube, octahedron) / massive, granular