What is "pyromorphite"

Pyromorphite \Pyr`o*mor"phite\, n. [G. pyromorphit, from Gr. ? fire + morfh` form.] (Min.) Native lead phosphate with lead chloride, occurring in bright green and brown hexagonal crystals and also massive; -- so called because a fused globule crystallizes in cooling.

n. (context mineralogy English) A yellowish-green mineral, a mixed phosphate and chloride of lead with the chemical formula lead₅(phosphorusoxygen₄)₃chlorine, that is sometimes mined as an ore.

n. a mineral consisting of lead chloride and phosphate; a minor source of lead [syn: green lead ore]

Pyromorphite is a mineral species composed of lead chlorophosphate: Pb( P O) Cl, sometimes occurring in sufficient abundance to be mined as an ore of lead. Crystals are common, and have the form of a hexagonal prism terminated by the basal planes, sometimes combined with narrow faces of a hexagonal pyramid. Crystals with a barrel-like curvature are not uncommon. Globular and reniform masses are also found. It is part of a series with two other minerals: mimetite (Pb( AsO)Cl) and vanadinite (Pb( VO)Cl), the resemblance in external characters is so close that, as a rule, it is only possible to distinguish between them by chemical tests. Paecilomyces javanicus is a mold collected from a lead-polluted soil that is able to form biominerals of pyromorphite

They were formerly confused under the names green lead ore and brown lead ore (German: Grünbleierz and Braunbleierz). The phosphate was first distinguished chemically by M. H. Klaproth in 1784, and it was named pyromorphite by J. F. L. Hausmann in 1813. The name is derived from the Greek for pyr (fire) and morfe (form) due to its crystallization behavior after being melted.