CERUSSITE ON BARYTE & GALENA

ABOUT THE SPECIMEN

A particularly sharp growth of cerussite, with terminations on both ends and reticulated growth visible along the sides, perched well atop a matrix of intergrown orange barite and galena. Bright yellow fluorescence under UV light. Many Moroccan cerussite specimens show good crystallization, yet not to the level with which this one formed.

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Les Dalles sits within the same Lower Jurassic dolomite and limestone package that hosts the district's famous vanadinite, where galena oxidation in the arid High Atlas climate deposited cerussite in open fractures as descending carbonate-rich groundwaters dissolved and reprecipitated lead. Crystals are colorless to pale yellow or smoky gray with an intense adamantine luster characteristic of the species, typically forming tabular to acicular prisms in complex cyclic twins - the orthorhombic symmetry enabling pseudo-hexagonal reticulated groups in which multiple individuals interpenetrate at 60° and 120° angles. The most diagnostic secondary feature is strong yellow fluorescence under midwave ultraviolet, particularly vivid on Les Dalles material relative to other Moroccan cerussite localities. Pink and yellow barite blades serve as the most common matrix phase, occasionally producing two-toned specimens where translucent cerussite perches on contrasting colored sulfate. Extreme sensitivity to mechanical shock and perfect cleavage make pristine examples a small fraction of recoveries even under careful extraction, and damage-free cabinet-scale twins on matrix have always been scarce relative to collector demand. Supply emerges intermittently from small-scale artisanal workings rather than systematic mining, keeping availability unpredictable.