Pyromorphite

specimen number:
2102437

location:
Bunker Hill Mine, Shoshone Co., Idaho, USA

description:
Lustrous yellow green crystals of pyromorphite across the top of a quartz matrix. In good condition.

The Bunker Hill mine, located in the Coeur d'Alene mining district near Kellogg, Shoshone County, Idaho, is an iconic American lead, zinc, and silver mine famous for producing exceptional pyromorphite and cerussite mineral specimens. Geologically, the deposit is hosted within the thick, heavily faulted Mesoproterozoic sedimentary rocks of the Belt Supergroup, primarily the Revett and Burke formations. The mineralization consists of large, structurally controlled hydrothermal veins and replacement bodies rich in galena, sphalerite, and tetrahedrite, which underwent extensive secondary oxidation near the surface to produce colorful secondary lead minerals. Discovered in 1885 by Noah Kellogg, commercial underground operations began shortly thereafter and grew into one of the largest mining and smelting complexes in the United States, operating continuously under the Bunker Hill Mining and Concentrating Company and later Gulf Resources and Chemical Corporation. The historical mine closed primary operations in 1981 due to depressed metal prices and environmental enforcement, though the site remains a major Superfund cleanup area and has seen recent underground exploration and engineering efforts aimed at restarting modern production.

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