Anglesite - PbSO₄

Habit: Colorless to white, commonly tinted gray; also orange, yellow, green, blue or rarely violet. Variable habit, with thin to thick tabular crystals, also equant or pyramidal and often striated; usually massive, granular to compact, often with concentric banding and enclosing an unaltered core of galena; may form epitaxial overgrowths on galena or barite. Adamantine, resinous to vitreous luster; transparent to opaque. White streak.

Environment: Common in the oxidized zone of lead deposits, where it may constitute an important ore.

Etymology: From its occurrence on the island of Anglesey, in Wales.

Anglesite is a rare lead mineral. The typical high luster associated with lead minerals makes them beautiful gemstones, intensifying their "fire." Anglesite has a very high density but is quite soft and fragile, so it is not a good stone for jewelry. Found in lead deposits where the sulfide mineral galena is oxidized, it is also called lead spar.