Dufrénoysite (very rare)

Item Description

Dufrénoysite is a very rare lead arsenic sulfosalt, which was originally discovered at the famed Lengenbach Quarry in the Swiss Alps. The species was named in 1845 in honor of Professor Ours-Pierre-Armand Petit-Dufrénoy who taught Mineralogy at the School of Mines in Paris. Dufrénoy is one of the few people in history to have two minerals named in his honor (Dufrénoysite and Dufrénite). Dufrénoysite was formerly called "Scleroclase", and is part of the Sartorite group, another very rare lead arsenic sulfosalt, first discovered at Lengenbach Quarry. This piece features a good sized coverage of massive / crystalline metallic lead grey Dufrénoysite on grainy white Dolomite matrix along with some micro crystallized metallic golden Pyrite, and a bit of honey-brown Sphalerite for a nice touch. From the collection of Colin Manlove