Plumbogummite ps. after Pyromorphite - Yangshuo Mine, China

Contributed by: Mark Cole
Date: May 18th, 2026
Locality: Yangshuo Mine, Yangshuo Co., Guilin, Guangxi, China (See on Mindat)

Description:
This is a large specimen consisting of sky-blue plumbogummite (white light) pseudomorph that has replaced an intergrown cluster of hexagonal pyromorphite prisms The locality is from an outcrop/appearance at the back of the mountain where the Yangshuo Pb-Zn Mine is located, Guilin Prefecture, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. For now, I call it the "Laohuan outcrop" (exact locality given by an authoritative mineralogist located in China). Yellow-green unaltered pyromorphite can still be seen at the ends of most of the crystals. The plumbogummite fluoresces under all UV wavelengths, but is brightest under midwave UV, and perhaps the most stunning of all MW minerals.

Note: Although these Chinese plumbogummite pseudomorphs are usually attributed to the Yangshuo Mine, a new report published by Wilson and Moore in the Nov-Dec, 2022 issue of The Mineralogical Record (The Laohuan Mine, pp 697-732) indicates that this locality information is incorrect and that the true location is the Laohuan Mine, which is located approximately 10 km to the north. But the exact source has always been in question. I asked a reliable authority located in China. He says "It is called Laohuyan, Laohu means Tiger and Yan means big Rock or Cliff, it is on the back of the mountain of Yangshuo Pb-Zn Mine, and itself is not a "mine"." These specimens are basically excavated from small caves and openings located opposite the commercial mines on the other side of the mountain.

Originally posted by Mark Cole on Nature's Rainbows in 2023.