Pyromorphite

specimen number:
2282030

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

description:
Attractive lustrous yellow green crystals of pyromorphite measuring to 0.5 cm in size coming off matrix. All of the prominent crystals are in good condition.

The Bunker Hill mine, situated near Kellogg in Shoshone County, Idaho, is one of the most prolific silver, lead, and zinc mines in United States history, located within the Coeur d'Alene mining district. Geologically, the massive deposit consists of extensive, high-grade hydrothermal vein networks and replacement ore bodies hosted within the thick, deformed Precambrian quartzites and argillites of the Belt Supergroup. The primary ore minerals include abundant galena and sphalerite, with significant silver values carried within argentiferous tetrahedrite. Discovered in 1885 by Philip O'Rourke and Noah Kellogg, the mine began commercial production shortly thereafter and operated continuously for nearly a century under the Bunker Hill and Sullivan Mining and Concentrating Company. Over its lifespan, the complex expanded to include an on-site smelter and electrolytic zinc plant, processing millions of tons of ore until low metal prices, labor disputes, and severe environmental enforcement led to the shutdown of primary mining operations in 1981, followed by its designation as a major federal Superfund site.

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