Lead - Pb

Native Elements

Habit: Native lead is gray-white, tarnishing to dull lead-grey, commonly round masses and plates. Rare as octahedral, cubic and dodecahedral crystals.


Environment: Native lead is rare in Nature. Hydrothermal origin, and found in placers.


Etymology: Yukon, Canada; Franklin, New Jersey, USA; El Dorado, Gran Sabana, Venezuela; Långban, Värmland, Sweden; Ilimaussaq, Greenland.


From the Latin plumbum, this is why the atomic symbol is Pb.