The molybdenum lead mine, the English name Wulfenite, is named after the Austrian mineralogist Franz Wulfen (F.X.Wulfen, 1728-1805). Molybdenite, also called color molybdenum, is a lead molybdate mineral, belonging to the tetragonal crystal system, and the crystals are in the shape of tetragonal plates. It has grease luster to diamond luster, transparent to translucent, and hardness of 2.75-3.0. Its typical colors are orange or yellow, as well as brown, 緑, brown, brown and red, and it has weak dichroism. Lead ore has high dispersion, no fluorescence, and is easy to melt. It is soluble in hydrochloric acid or decomposed by nitric acid.
Molybdenum lead ore is low in hardness, brittle, and sensitive to heat, which is inconvenient to process. しかし, because of its strong luster and dispersion characteristics, it is still used as a gem. Transparent crystals can be polished and processed into faceted gems, which will produce a phenomenon of “火”, dazzling, just like beautiful diamonds, very precious, but because of their softness and fragility, they are mostly used for collection. Molybdenum-lead ore gemstones are rare. A yellow molybdenum-lead ore gem, weighing 15.25 カラット, was collected by the Calgary Divo Group in Canada, from Tsume, Namibia; there is also a red molybdenum-lead ore crystal weighing 9.44 カラット. Produced in Arizona, アメリカ合衆国. Molybdenum-lead ore is distinguished from other similar gems by its inherent characteristics such as hardness, specific gravity and refractive index. 加えて, molybdenum lead ore can also be used as molybdenum and lead ore when it accumulates in large quantities.
Molybdenum-lead ore is produced in the oxidation zone of lead and molybdenum deposits. It is a secondary mineral, often coexisting with white lead, limonite, vanadinite, galena, phosphochlorinite and other minerals. The main production areas are the United States, Namibia, Mexico, オーストリア, Germany, Poland, Morocco, Congo (DRC) and Australia. The high-quality molybdenum-lead ore crystals are mostly produced in Arizona and Tsume City in Namibia.