Since it is primarily made of lead, galena is also very heavy for its size and has a metallic luster.

Chemical Formula: PbS
Class: Sulifides
Hardness: 2.5
Coloration: Lead Gray

How to identify it/Unique Characteristics or Properties: Galena is easily recognizable by its’ square crystals, often grown in large clusters, sometimes twinned and grown into each other. Since it is primarily made of lead, galena is also very heavy for its size and has a metallic luster. The pictures below are of galena in carbonate, and some show the cubic shape very well. Be careful when handling galena, as lead poisoning has been a major concern for thousands of years, causing major damage to people over time.

Galena also comes in a finer crystal form, called “steel galena” because it looks like a piece of broken steel, and has a much finer texture. This form of it was often used in crystal radios. The first picture below is of this variety. The last one is of silver and iron ore from galena.

Where to find it in…

The Northwest: Washington, Idaho
Other: Canada, Mexico, Germany, England, Serbia, Italy, Russia, Australia
Past Uses: Galena is the primary ore form of lead, and so is mined extensively for lead. Lead has been used for many different things, from fish weights to car batteries, water pipes and radiation shielding.
How it was Made: Like many minerals, Galena forms in hydrothermal veins where hot liquids rise up and deposit minerals.
Interesting Facts: Even though Galena just barely contains silver, galena still qualifies as the primary silver ore just because of the quantity of galena mined.