Home > Lead Minerals – December 31 > MS1151 Embreyite with Crocoite
Embreyite with Crocoite - Sold
- Beresovsk
- Ural Mountains
- Russia
- 7.6 by 4.5 by 1.8 cm – Small cabinet specimen (under 10 cm)
Embreyite is a hydrated lead phosphate chromate, named in honor of Peter Embrey (1929-2010), former mineralogist at the Natural History Museum (London) (Williams, 1972). The type locality at Beresovsk has historic gold mines which have challenged mineralogists since the late eighteenth century. When a brilliant red mineral containing lead was discovered (crocoite), samples were sent to France from which Vauquelin isolated a new metal: chromium. The history of the discovery of these minerals, and the element chromium was summarized by a paper by Sid Williams "The Naturally Occurring Chromates of Lead".
This specimen consists of a flat altered schist matrix with a 3 by 2.5 cm crystalline crust of embreyite. Embreyite forms minute botryoids, with a rich orange color, forming directly on the schistose matrix. Later minor green pyromorphite and deep orange-red prismatic crocoite crystals to 7 mm complete the assemblage. This is an extreme rarity, seldom available in such rich and fine specimens.