Galena

specimen number:
2262100

location:
Picher Field, Tri-State District, Kansas-Oklahoma, USA

description:
Classic Midwest specimen, a lustrous complete all around octahedral and cubic crystal grouping of galena. From the 1960s, in good condition with minimal micro-damage present. Several smaller crystals of golden chalcopyrite are present as well.

The Picher Field, located within the Tri-State Mining District at the border of Oklahoma and Kansas, was once the most productive zinc and lead mining area in the world. Geologically, the region features Mississippian-aged limestone and chert host rocks where hydrothermal fluids deposited massive quantities of sphalerite and galena in Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) ore bodies. Historically, mining and quarrying began in the early 1900s following the discovery of ore on Quapaw tribal lands, with production peaking during World War I and World War II to supply the global demand for ammunition and industrial metals. The town of Picher was officially incorporated in 1918, and by the 1920s, the field was producing over fifty percent of the zinc and lead used in the United States. Large-scale commercial extraction continued until the late 1960s, but the legacy of these operations left behind vast mountains of toxic chat and significant groundwater contamination, eventually leading to the area being declared a Superfund site and the subsequent evacuation of the town. Through 2026, the Picher Field remains a primary case study for both historic industrial achievement and the long-term environmental consequences of high-intensity mineral extraction.

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