Litharge (from Greek lithargyros, lithos (stone) + argyros (silver) ''λιθάργυρος'') is one of the natural mineral forms of

lead(II) oxide Lead(II) oxide, also called lead monoxide, is the inorganic compound with the molecular formula Pb O. PbO occurs in two polymorphs: litharge having a tetragonal crystal structure, and massicot having an orthorhombic crystal structure. Modern ap ...

, PbO. Litharge is a secondary mineral which forms from the

oxidation Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a d ...

galena Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver. Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It cryst ...

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 7 Apr ...

s. It forms as coatings and encrustations with internal tetragonal crystal structure. It is dimorphous with the orthorhombic form

massicot Massicot is lead (II) oxide mineral with an orthorhombic lattice structure. Lead(II) oxide (formula: PbO) can occur in one of two lattice formats, orthorhombic and tetragonal. The tetragonal form is called litharge. PbO can be changed from mas ...

. It forms soft (

Mohs hardness The Mohs scale of mineral hardness () is a qualitative ordinal scale, from 1 to 10, characterizing scratch resistance of various minerals through the ability of harder material to scratch softer material. The scale was introduced in 1812 by t ...

of 2), red, greasy-appearing crusts with a very high

specific gravity Relative density, or specific gravity, is the ratio of the density (mass of a unit volume) of a substance to the density of a given reference material. Specific gravity for liquids is nearly always measured with respect to water (molecule), wa ...

of 9.14–9.35. PbO may be prepared by heating lead metal in air at approximately 600 °C (lead melts at only 300 °C). At this temperature it is also the end product of heating of other

lead oxide Lead oxides are a group of inorganic compounds with formulas including lead (Pb) and oxygen (O). Common lead oxides include: * Lead(II) oxide, PbO, litharge (red), massicot (yellow) * Lead(II,IV) oxide Lead(II,IV) oxide, also called red lead o ...

s in air. This is often done with a set of bellows pumping air over molten lead and causing the oxidized product to slip or fall off the top into a receptacle, where it quickly solidifies in minute scales. :PbO₂ –(293 °C)→ Pb₁₂O₁₉ –(351 °C)→ Pb₁₂O₁₇ –(375 °C)→ Pb₃O₄ –(605 °C)→ PbO

Historical terminology

Historically, the term "litharge" has been combined to refer to other similar substances. For example, ''litharge of gold'' is litharge mixed with

red lead Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

, giving it a red color; ''litharge of bismuth'' is a similar result of the oxidation of bismuth; ''litharge of silver'' is litharge that comes as a by-product of separating silver from lead, in fact ''litharge'' originally meant the mineral residue from silver refining. The term has also been used as a synonym for

white lead White lead is the basic lead carbonate 2PbCO3·Pb(OH)2. It is a complex salt, containing both carbonate and hydroxide ions. White lead occurs naturally as a mineral, in which context it is known as hydrocerussite, a hydrate of cerussite. It was ...

or red lead.

Litharge smelting

According to Probert, "

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

, litharge (crude lead oxide) flux and

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...

were mixed and

smelted Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a c ...

in very small

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

and stone

furnace A furnace is a structure in which heat is produced with the help of combustion. Furnace may also refer to: Appliances Buildings * Furnace (central heating): a furnace , or a heater or boiler , used to generate heat for buildings * Boiler, used t ...

s. Resulting silver-bearing lead

bullion Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes from t ...

was later refined in a second furnace which yielded fine silver, and litharge skimmings which were used again."Alan Probert, "Bartolomé de Medina: The Patio Process and the Sixteenth Century Silver Crisis" in Bakewell, Peter, ed. ''Mines of Silver and Gold in the Americas''. Variorum: Brookfield, 1997, pp. 96, .

Historical terminology

Litharge smelting

References

Further reading