Massicot

Massicot is one of the natural mineral forms of lead(II) oxide, PbO. Massicot is the orthorhombic dimorph of the tetragonal form of lead oxide, litharge. It forms soft (Mohs hardness of 2) yellow to reddish-yellow, earthy, scaley masses which are very dense, with a specific gravity of 9.64.

Additional recommended knowledge

Weighing the right way

Safe Weighing Range Ensures Accurate Results

Recognize and detect the effects of electrostatic charges on your balance

It was first described in 1841 for an occurrence in Stolberg, near Aachen, Germany. The name is French for lead oxide.

References

• Palache, C., H. Berman, and C. Frondel (1944) Dana’s system of mineralogy, (7th edition), v. I, 516–517
• Webmineral data
• Mindat with location data
• Mineral data publishing - PDF