This specific mineral is found in the Susanna vein of Leadhills, where the crystals are formed as chisel-shaped or bladed.
Scotlandite represents the latest phase in the crystallization sequence of the associated lead secondary minerals.
It can often be found in the vuggy anglesite as yellowish single crystals up to 1 millimeter in length that sometimes arrange in a fan-shaped aggregates.
[2] Scotlandite is a pale yellow, greyish-white, colorless, transparent mineral with an adamantine or pearly luster.
[3] Scotlandite occurs as chisel-shaped or bladed crystals elongated along the c-axis, with a tendency to form radiating clusters.
[2] The infrared spectrum of scotlandite shows conclusively that it is an anhydrous sulfite, with no OH groups or other polyatomic anions being present.
It is also proven by electron microprobe analysis and infrared spectroscopy that scotlandite must be a polymorph of lead sulfite.
[3] [3][2] A small crystal of scotlandite, showing some cleavage faces, was examined using Weissenberg and precession techniques.