What was graphite believed to be a form of?

lead
mercury
iron
chalk
When large deposit of graphite was found in the 16th century in England, it was thought to be a form of lead. In many languages, the word for pencil literally means lead pen. (German Bleistift, Polish ołówek, Arabic قلم رصاص)
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reach: rather globalchemistryelementsetymologygeologyhistorymineralspencilswriting

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