Campylite

Campylite

Dry Gill, Caldbekk Fells, Cumbria, England

Single piece. Size approx. 40mm x 28mm x 17mm. Weight approx. 40g.

This magnificent stone has characteristic large and shiny barrel-shaped crystals of campylite, with a deep light brown and mustard yellow shimmer. Mimetite is a lead arsenate chloride mineral that forms as a secondary mineral in lead, usually during the oxidation of galena and arsenopyrite. The name of the mineral comes from the Greek word Μιμητής, meaning "imitator", and refers to mimetite's remarkable resemblance to pyromorphite. Campylite is a rarer form of mimetite. The crystals are then semi-circular and the compact formations resemble small barrels. Campylite occurs in upper lead deposits as a result of the oxidation of galena or cerussite. The most important deposits have been found at Příbram in Bohemia and at Dry Gill, near Wigton, Cumbria in England.