Galena mineral
Galena is the PbS mineral species listed as grandfathered in the September 2026 IMA list; its original-description year is unresolved there. It is distinct from elemental lead, anglesite, manufactured PbS reagents and mixed lead ores or flotation concentrates. The experiment below concerns galena within a natural mixed concentrate, not a pure natural endmember. No criticality designation is inherited from lead.
Microbial & Biochemical Mechanisms (1)
Culture-associated galena transformation with lead sulfate precipitation
redox transformation
Microbial
Associated Organisms:
Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (NCBITaxon:920)
Inoculation with the source-labelled A. ferrooxidans F3-02 culture accompanies faster ferrous-iron depletion, higher redox potential and a residue with less galena and more anglesite than the sterile-labelled comparator. The observations support a conditional culture-associated transformation in a mixed concentrate. Ferric attack and oxidation of reduced sulfur are proposed contributions, not separately isolated pathways. Lead sulfate precipitation also occurs without inoculation, and low dissolved lead shows no inoculated advantage. This is not demonstrated lead extraction into solution or isolated-product recovery.
Experimental Context & Analytical Limits:
Laboratory shake-flask assay using flotation concentrate from ZGH Boleslaw S.A., Poland. The source estimates approximately 80% PbS by XRD, with hydrocerussite, marcasite, sphalerite, pyrite and minor gypsum and quartz; these approximate starting phase percentages do not close exactly to 100%. Table 1 gives 69.3% Pb and 18.4% total S. Particle-size distribution and washing or other pre-assay solid treatment are not specified. F3-02 was isolated from ferruginous mineral water at Piwniczna-Lomnica, cultivated in modified 2K medium and not initially adapted to lead compounds. No sequence or authenticated collection accession is supplied for that strain. The medium contains, in g/L, (NH4)2SO4 3.0, KCl 0.1, MgSO4.7H2O 0.5, Ca(NO3)2 0.01, K2HPO4 0.5 and FeSO4.7H2O 9.84, nominally 2.0 g/L Fe(II), with sulfuric acid adjustment to nominal pH 2. The paper specifies 5% w/v concentrate, 100 mL solution and 10 mL culture in 300 mL Erlenmeyer flasks, 25 degrees C and 130 rpm; whether the inoculum is included in the 100 mL and loading denominator is unresolved. Table 2 starts at pH 2.2 and 2.159 g/L Fe(II), differing from the nominal medium values. Sampling extends to 384 h. Replicate number, uncertainty, inoculum cell density, inoculum washing, sterilization method and verification of control sterility are unreported. The comparator is described as sterile, but its pH and redox trajectories differ from the inoculated treatment; no dynamic chemistry-matched control isolates a direct cell effect. Pb and Zn were measured by atomic absorption, Fe(II) by manganometry, residue sulfur fractions gravimetrically and phases by XRD; residues were air-dried on filters for SEM. Residue masses and a closed Pb/S balance are not supplied.
Laboratory shake-flask assay using flotation concentrate from ZGH Boleslaw S.A., Poland. The source estimates approximately 80% PbS by XRD, with hydrocerussite, marcasite, sphalerite, pyrite and minor gypsum and quartz; these approximate starting phase percentages do not close exactly to 100%. Table 1 gives 69.3% Pb and 18.4% total S. Particle-size distribution and washing or other pre-assay solid treatment are not specified. F3-02 was isolated from ferruginous mineral water at Piwniczna-Lomnica, cultivated in modified 2K medium and not initially adapted to lead compounds. No sequence or authenticated collection accession is supplied for that strain. The medium contains, in g/L, (NH4)2SO4 3.0, KCl 0.1, MgSO4.7H2O 0.5, Ca(NO3)2 0.01, K2HPO4 0.5 and FeSO4.7H2O 9.84, nominally 2.0 g/L Fe(II), with sulfuric acid adjustment to nominal pH 2. The paper specifies 5% w/v concentrate, 100 mL solution and 10 mL culture in 300 mL Erlenmeyer flasks, 25 degrees C and 130 rpm; whether the inoculum is included in the 100 mL and loading denominator is unresolved. Table 2 starts at pH 2.2 and 2.159 g/L Fe(II), differing from the nominal medium values. Sampling extends to 384 h. Replicate number, uncertainty, inoculum cell density, inoculum washing, sterilization method and verification of control sterility are unreported. The comparator is described as sterile, but its pH and redox trajectories differ from the inoculated treatment; no dynamic chemistry-matched control isolates a direct cell effect. Pb and Zn were measured by atomic absorption, Fe(II) by manganometry, residue sulfur fractions gravimetrically and phases by XRD; residues were air-dried on filters for SEM. Residue masses and a closed Pb/S balance are not supplied.
Curated Evidence Points:
Support
Source:
pacholewska2004
Methods and Table 2 report the culture and comparator. At 288 h, inoculated Fe(II) is reported as 0.00 g/L versus 1.113 g/L in the control, with potentials 560.8 versus 286.5 mV against Ag/AgCl. These printed zeros have no supplied detection limit. Page 286 and Figure 1 identify galena and anglesite in both residues: the source estimates approximately 43% galena and 40% anglesite in the inoculated residue versus 62% and 25% in the control. These are residue phase estimates with unreported quantitative uncertainty, not feed-mass conversion or recovery fractions. Figures 2-3 show altered grain surfaces and cell-like structures assigned to the inoculated culture; microscopy alone does not authenticate the strain or establish a direct enzymatic attack.
Partial
Source:
pacholewska2004
Table 2 reports dissolved Pb of 0.0021 g/L with culture versus 0.0022 g/L in the control at 288 h, and 0.0019 versus 0.0021 g/L at 384 h. Thus greater sulfate-bearing residue formation is not a demonstrated dissolved-Pb advantage. By 384 h both natural-feed arms report Fe(II) as 0.00 g/L. Surface precipitation/passivation is the author's explanation for slowing transformation, not an independently varied coating experiment. The separate synthetic PbS comparator reaches pH 5.4, retains 0.555 g/L Fe(II) and lacks observed bacterial colonies at 384 h; it does not demonstrate equivalent activity on pure PbS under maintained acidic conditions.
Partial
Source:
pacholewska2004
Table 3 labels S_SO4/(S_total - S_SO4) as sulfur conversion and prints 47.99% with culture versus 27.25% in the control at 288 h. Those entries are consistent with 100 times residue sulfate-S divided by residue sulfide-S, not the fraction of starting sulfide converted. The sulfate-containing medium and other sulfide phases prevent assigning that ratio specifically to oxidized galena sulfur. The early control rows also contain ratio/value inconsistencies. The abstract's twofold wording is only approximate; 47.99/27.25 is about 1.76. The 384 h inoculated ratio is 49.78%, despite prose describing no further change. No verified PbS conversion percentage, recoverable lead yield or industrial deployment is inferred.
Context_only
Source:
ncbi_ferrooxidans
The authority resolves the reported species name to NCBI Taxonomy 920. It does not establish that F3-02 is the type strain or verify the original isolate identification.
Sources & References
-
ima_2026_09: IMA-CNMNC. The New IMA List of Minerals, September 2026. Galena row on PDF page 79; status and year definitions on page 1 and distribution terms on page 2. Same-day retained original rechecked, not downloaded anew.
https://cnmnc.units.it/files/editor/IMA_Master_List_(2026-09).pdf (accessed 2026-10-11) -
pacholewska2004: Pacholewska, M. (2004). Bioleaching of galena flotation concentrate. Physicochemical Problems of Mineral Processing 38, 281-290. Complete original main: Methods pp. 282-284, Tables 1-3, Figures 1-3 and results pp. 284-290. Publisher landing supplies issue 1; no verified DOI is assigned here.
https://www.journalssystem.com/ppmp/Bioleaching-of-galena-flotation-concentrate,79494,0,2.html (accessed 2026-10-11) -
ncbi_ferrooxidans: NCBI Taxonomy 920. Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, species rank and current name. Species identifier only; not an authentication of F3-02.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=920&mode=info (accessed 2026-10-11)
Curation History
| Timestamp | Curator | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
2026-10-11T21:04:40Z |
codex (GPT-6; codex) | CREATE | Created the galena mineral record and qualified natural-concentrate transformation observation, preserving the sterile comparator, synthetic-PbS limitation, low dissolved lead and non-mass-balanced sulfur ratio rather than assigning a lead recovery yield. |
Record source: data/records/galena.yaml