Catalog Search Guide
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Mimetite
Mimetite is a lead arsenate chloride, Pb5(AsO4)3Cl, forming as a secondary mineral in the oxidized zones of lead deposits where galena and arsenopyrite have weathered together. It belongs to the apatite group and sits in a solid-solution series with pyromorphite and vanadinite, which it closely resembles — a resemblance that gave the species its name, from the Greek for "imitator." Typical habit is short hexagonal prisms, but mimetite is best known for globular, botryoidal and reniform crusts, and for the barrel-shaped curved crystals known as campylite. Colors range from pale yellow through orange, brown, and occasionally green.
The type locality is Johanngeorgenstadt in Saxony, Germany, source of the classic large tabular crystals once described by Goethe. The world's finest campylite comes from Dry Gill Mine in the Caldbeck Fells, Cumbria, England, while acicular sprays are prized from the Clara Mine, Germany. Tsumeb, Namibia has yielded spectacular spiky, gemmy crystals, and Mexico's Ojuela Mine and San Pedro Corralitos in Chihuahua are famous for lustrous yellow botryoidal clusters. Exceptional lustrous specimens also come from the Pingtouling Mine, Guangdong, China, and large whitish-yellow crystals from Mount Bonnie, Northern Territory, Australia.
Collectors seek mimetite for its vivid autumnal palette, distinctive botryoidal and barrel-shaped habits, high density, and frequent association with wulfenite, cerussite, smithsonite and galena. Facetable transparent crystals are exceedingly rare, making fine, richly colored specimens a genuine prize for arsenate and lead-mineral collections alike.
