Cerussite Mineral

Hey dear community, I hope you had a week that brought some interesting experiences into your life as well as a pleasant start to the new weekend! Today I would like to talk a little about minerals and bring a specimen a little closer.

Cerussite can be seen here, which already has a long history behind it and was already an important ore for the extraction of lead in ancient times, which was of great importance in many areas and was an essential part for the construction of the infrastructure of the Roman Empire. Even in the Middle Ages, it appears again and again in writings and it received its current name during the 19th century by the Austrian mineralogist Wilhelm Karl Ritter von Haidinger (1795 - 1871) who was considered one of the most important mineralogists of his time and was a member of different societies. It is typically found in lead-containing deposits where it is formed by oxidation and through pseudomorphosis it can convert cerussite into other minerals and there are numerous different variations or crystal shapes and often tends to form twins and the color can be attributed to the addition of other minerals. Another interesting property is that some specimens show fluorescence under the influence of ultraviolet light and the rarity can vary according to the place of discovery and as ore it is only used when it occurs abundantly and it was previously even used for the production of cosmetics and it was particularly popular for the production of products that should lighten the skin. Cerussite was probably already used in ancient Egypt for these purposes and the earliest mentions for the use as cosmetic in Europe date back to the 16th century and this product was known under the name blanc de ceruse de Venise and was considered a luxury product and it is assumed that it was also used by the former Queen of England Elizabeth I (1533 - 1603), but there is little tradition for this. Later it came out that it is poisonous and can lead to damage of the skin and especially if it has been used for a longer period of time, there were serious consequences that even cost some people their life. Since it is considered a toxic mineral, it is important to be definitely careful during handling or storage and it is considered particularly dangerous if the mineral is crumbled and it should happen that the dust is inhaled and therefore, as a collector, you should always make sure to store it in closed containers.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you could learn something new about minerals! I captured these pictures with my Camera Sony Alpha 6000 plus 55-210 mm lens.