Provenite

Viburnum Trend

AreaActiveDraft data

37.7150° N, 91.1294° W · Region only

Calcite, Chalcopyrite and Galena from Missouri, United States, with photos of specimens from this locality.

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Minerals found here

CalciteChalcopyriteGalena

On the same specimen

Same specimen Galena growing on Chalcopyrite

Gunmetal-grey galena cubes sit on a chalcopyrite matrix in specimens from the Buick Mine in the Viburnum Trend.

A bright metallic lead sulfide on a brassy copper sulfide gives a strong colour and luster contrast in a Mississippi Valley-type specimen.

Sources: SRC-047

Same specimen Marcasite with Galena

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show galena with marcasite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Calcite with Galena

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show galena with calcite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Dolomite with Galena

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show galena with dolomite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Calcite at Viburnum Trend

Golden gem-quality crystal clusters with phantoms, here from the Sweetwater Mine within the Viburnum Trend.

Golden calcite cluster with a phantom, Sweetwater Mine, Viburnum Trend.
Golden calcite cluster with a phantom, Sweetwater Mine, Viburnum Trend.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Formula
CaCO₃
Morphology
Floater cluster of gem-quality crystals with phantom
Typical size
Photographed cluster about 5.8 cm
Color / luster
Golden, glassy
Availability
Unknown
History
The photographed cluster was recorded as found in January 1974

Sources: SRC-207 SRC-184

About Calcite →

Chalcopyrite at Viburnum Trend

Chalcopyrite crystals up to about 1 cm on matrix from the Sweetwater Mine.
Chalcopyrite crystals up to about 1 cm on matrix from the Sweetwater Mine.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Chalcopyrite with intense colour from the Sweetwater Mine.
Chalcopyrite with intense colour from the Sweetwater Mine.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Stacked cubic galena crystals sprinkled with small oriented chalcopyrite crystals.
Stacked cubic galena crystals sprinkled with small oriented chalcopyrite crystals.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Formula
CuFeS₂

Sources: SRC-047

About Chalcopyrite →

Galena at Viburnum Trend

Larger, more euhedral galena crystals than the older Old Lead Belt, set on dolomite with chalcopyrite or brassy marcasite

Large complete galena cube from the Viburnum Trend with a little matrix attached on one side.
Large complete galena cube from the Viburnum Trend with a little matrix attached on one side.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Group of modified, lustrous galena crystals to 2.5 cm on a dolomite matrix.
Group of modified, lustrous galena crystals to 2.5 cm on a dolomite matrix.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Large 4 cm galena cube perched at the edge of a sheet-like marcasite matrix with small calcite crystals.
Large 4 cm galena cube perched at the edge of a sheet-like marcasite matrix with small calcite crystals.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Formula
PbS
Morphology
Cubes, cuboctahedra and octahedra, complex parallel-growth groups; platy crystals; octahedral habit is early and cubic habit late; branching (arborescent) galena at Sweetwater
Typical size
Cubes to about 35 mm reported from Sweetwater; clusters of rounded crystals 15-20 mm across from Magmont
Color / luster
Gunmetal to lead-gray with crisp metallic luster
Associated minerals
Dolomitecalcitechalcopyritemarcasitesphaleritesiegenitequartzbitumen
Surface features
Crisp, bright faces on sharp crystals; rounded complex crystals at Magmont
Twins
Spinel-law twins reported from Brushy Creek; flat spinel-twinned plates in a few finds
Availability
Unknown
History
French explorers noted lead showings around 1700; the Viburnum orebody was found by drilling in 1955 and Viburnum No. 27 Mine opened in 1960. A cavity at Brushy Creek was reported lined and filled with galena crystals.

Sources: SRC-046 SRC-047 SRC-048 SRC-049

About Galena →

Geology of the locality

Setting
Mississippi Valley-type lead-zinc-copper district within the Southeast Missouri Lead District; ore follows collapse breccias in stromatolitic reef dolomite where the Lamotte Sandstone pinches out against Precambrian igneous knobs.
Type
Hydrothermal
Host rock
Dolomite (Upper Cambrian Bonneterre Formation)
Region
Missouri
Country
United States

A belt of mines (including Sweetwater, Brushy Creek, Buick, Fletcher, Casteel). Coordinates are those of the town of Viburnum (Wikipedia, SRC-050) and mark the district only; Sweetwater Mine lies in Reynolds County and no mine-level coordinates were found. Status as of 2022 per Wikipedia.

Sources: SRC-047 SRC-049 SRC-050

Sources

  1. SRC-047 · Website
    Galena from Viburnum Trend, Missouri, USAEarthWonders
  2. SRC-049 · Website
    Southeast Missouri Lead DistrictWikipedia
  3. SRC-050 · Website
    Viburnum, MissouriWikipedia
  4. SRC-207 · Website
    File:Calcite-137555.jpg (Wikimedia Commons file page)Lavinsky, R.M. (photographer) · 2010 · Wikimedia Commons
  5. SRC-184 · Book
    Handbook of Mineralogy - CalciteAnthony, J.W.; Bideaux, R.A.; Bladh, K.W.; Nichols, M.C. · Mineralogical Society of America
  6. SRC-046 · Database
    Sweetwater Mine, Ellington, Reynolds County, Missouri: galena locality entry (locentry 5472)Mindat.org (zh mirror)
  7. SRC-048 · Website
    Galena from two mining camps in North AmericaTurnstone Geological Services (turnstone.ca)

Draft data from the Provenite workbook. Check entries against the cited sources before relying on them. Photos are open-licence images from Wikimedia Commons; the author and licence are given with each photo.