BAUMHAUERITE, SARTORITE AND REALGAR (MINIATURE, EXTREMELY RARE)

A very rare and older specimen from the Lengenbach Quarry.

Baumhauerite (Pb3As4S9) is an extremely rare sulfosalt mineral composed of lead, characterized by its triclinic crystal system and a color range from gray-black to blue-gray, exhibiting a metallic to dull luster. With a hardness rating of 3, it typically forms small crystals found within dolomitic marble. This mineral is predominantly located in the Lengenbach Quarry in the Valais region of Switzerland, where it was first discovered by the German mineralogist Heinrich Adolph Baumhauer in 1902. Lengenbach is renowned among mineralogists for its diverse collection of rare minerals. Additionally, Baumhauerite has been identified at Sterling Hill in New Jersey, USA, often in conjunction with molybdenite, and in aggregate forms at Hemlo in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.

Sartorite is a lead arsenic sulfide mineral with the chemical formula PbAs2S4, primarily located at the Lengenbach Quarry in the Binnental valley of Valais, Switzerland. Initially, it was believed to be isomorphic with chalcostibite, emplectite, and zinckenite; however, it was clearly differentiated from these minerals in 1939. The name "sartorite" honors its discoverer, Sartorius von Walterhausen, who lived from 1809 to 1876. This mineral is mainly found in hydrothermal deposits associated with dolomite.