Phosgenite

It's advisable to handle phosgenite carefully to avoid generating dust and wash hands thoroughly afterward. When cutting or polishing phosgenite, wear a dust mask to prevent inhaling heavy metal particles. Store phosgenite in a sealed container in a well-ventilated area, away from children and pets. For those involved in crystal healing, never put it in your mouth.

The name phosgenite was given by August Breithaupt in 1820, from phosgene, carbon oxychloride, because the mineral contains the elements carbon, oxygen and chlorine. It was found associated with anglesite and matlockite in cavities within altered galena in a lead mine at Cromford, near Matlock: hence its common name cromfordite. Crystals are also found in galena at Monteponi near Iglesias in Sardinia, and near Dundas in Tasmania. It has also been reported from Laurium, Greece; Tarnowitz, Poland; the Altai district, Siberia; the Touissit mine, near Oujda, Morocco; Sidi Amor ben Salem, Tunisia; Tsumeb, Namibia; Broken Hill, New South Wales; and Boleo, near Santa Rosalia, Baja California. In the US it has been reported from the Terrible mine, Custer County, Colorado; the Stevenson-Bennett mine, Organ Mountains, Doña Ana County, New Mexico; and the Mammoth mine, Tiger, Pinal County, Arizona. Crystals of phosgenite, and also of the corresponding bromine compound PbBr2CO3, have been prepared artificially.