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Among the most dazzling of all lead minerals, pyromorphite stands out for its brilliant greens, yellows, and oranges, forming lustrous hexagonal crystals that captivate collectors worldwide. As a secondary mineral in lead deposits, it typically occurs in the oxidised zones of galena-bearing veins, often alongside mimetite and vanadinite.
Over the centuries, pyromorphite has been discovered in a handful of localities whose specimens have defined the species’ reputation for colour, lustre, and crystal perfection. From the honey-yellow classics of Idaho’s Bunker Hill Mine to the vivid apple greens of Les Farges in France and the gemlike crystals of Daoping, China, each deposit tells a story of geological conditions and human discovery.
The following list highlights twenty of the world’s finest and most famous sources of pyromorphite – places that have shaped its history and continue to inspire mineral collectors everywhere.
1. Daoping Mine, Guilin, Guangxi, China – A classic site for the species which has produced the brilliant grass-green crystals that revolutionised the pyromorphite collectors' market in the early 2000s. Sharp, gemmy crystals on quartz or limonite are world-class.
2. Bunker Hill Mine, Shoshone County, Idaho, USA – Famous for its honey-yellow to bright green crystals, which are often found in large clusters. A long-standing classic and among the most famous U.S. localities and highly sought-after by American collectors.
3. Les Farges Mine, Ussel, Corrèze, France – The deep green to olive needle-like and also barrel-shaped crystals here are legendary for their form and lustre, a benchmark for European pyromorphite.
4. Bad Ems District, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany – A historic 19th-century locality producing apple-green and brown blocky crystals; significant for museum collections worldwide.
5. Příbram District, Bohemia, Czechia – Classic green and yellow pyromorphite specimens with a long mining history dating back many centuries.
6. Caldbeck Fells, Cumbria, England – Famous for botryoidal green forms and superb microcrystals. Collectors prize historic specimens from this British classic. Several notable mines and workings in the area include Roughton Gill, Mexico and Balliway Rigg.
7. Yangshuo Mine, Guangxi, China – A mine that rivals Daoping in spectacular specimens. Yangshuo, however, often yields larger, more sculptural crystals. Some specimens are covered by a blue coating of the rare lead mineral plumbogummite, a highly desirable species in its own right.
8. Phoenixville District, Pennsylvania, USA – A historic locality with apple-green pyromorphite, some dating back to the 1800s.
9. Brown's Prospect, Rum Jungle, Northern Territory, Australia – Rich olive-green and yellow crystals found in lead-zinc deposits; specimens are highly prized. Many are associated with cerussite and malachite, providing striking contrasts.
10. Wheal Alfred Mine, Cornwall, Hayle, England – Classic bright green to orange examples from the 19th century, now extremely rare. Some of the old labels refer to the mineral as 'plumboarsenio phosphate'.
11. El Horcajo Mine, Ciudad Real, Spain – Renowned for honey-yellow barrel-shaped crystals with exceptional transparency. Many specimens are associated with anglesite and plumbogummite.
12. Příbram & Plzeň Regions, Czechia – A large number of small lead sites produce pyromorphite specimens in a vast variety of colours and shapes. Colours range from apple-green to olive and brown. Specimens from the Číhaň quarry are notable for double-coloured specimens, showing different zones within single crystals.
13. Loudville Lead Mine, Massachusetts, USA – A New England classic; new finds of bright green microcrystals appeared in 2000 and were significant enough to be featured in Rocks & Minerals.
14. Trento Province, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy – A number of historic mines producing fine olive-green pyromorphite, often acicular, in combination with cerussite and mimetite. Prime locations include the Vignola, Cinquevalli and Frattasecca mines.
15. Saint-Salvy Mine, Tarn, France – Late 20th-century locality producing bright lime-green crystals; among France’s most recent high-quality finds.
16. Bou Iboulkhir Mine, Moulay Bouazza, Morocco - The location is famous for large groups of fine, apple-green and also yellow pyromorphite, often on a matrix of dark-brown goethite.
17. Touissit, Touissit-Bou Beker, Jerada Province, Morocco - A different type of Moroccan pyromorphite, noted for its grey and orange-brown, barrel-like crystals, often quite large and blocky.
18. Ferdinande Mine, Flandersbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany - An ancient lead mine, abandoned in 1898, working lead- and copper-bearing veins. The abandoned site and dumps continue to produce exceptional clusters of dark-green, gemmy pyromorphite crystals.
19. Susanna Mine, Leadhills, South Lanarkshire, Scotland - An ancient lead working surrounded by extensive mine dumps. These occasionally yield striking specimens of bright green, and sometimes yellow, pyromorphite, often as coatings on cerussite.
20. Bwlch Glas Mine, Tal-y-bont, Ceulanymaesmawr, Ceredigion, Wales - A relatively late Welsh lead mine known for grass-green crusts of crystalline pyromorphite on matrix. Specimens often show two different crystallisation patterns: prismatic needles and globular balls.