Wulfenite is a lead
molybdate mineral with the
chemical formula PbMoO
4. It is most often found as thin tabular crystals with a bright orange-red to yellow-orange color, sometimes brown, although the color can be highly variable. In its yellow form it is sometimes called "yellow lead ore". The mineral was first described in 1845 for an occurrence in
Bad Bleiberg, Austria, and was named after
Franz Xaver von Wulfen, an Austrian mineralogist. This specimen of wulfenite, embedded in a small amount of
matrix, measures 2.2 cm × 1.7 cm × 0.3 cm (0.87 in × 0.67 in × 0.12 in) in size and was extracted from the Red Cloud mine near
Yuma, Arizona.
Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus