An Introduction
to Collector Minerals of |
West Cumbria -
Classic Specimens including
photographs of |
|
WEST CUMBRIA West of the Lake
District, near the coast, lie the famous Cleator Moor/
Egremont/ Frizington deposits which have yielded
world-class, classic examples of the most common
collector mineral species: in particular, calcite, barite The finest examples
of these minerals from these deposits are unlikely to be
repeated and are consequently Famed sites for
calcite include the Bigrigg, Parkside Barite from the
area, as a whole, is found in several habits and in a
variety of colours. The tabular, blue barites examples
are regarded as some of the finest specimens known for
the mineral. Aragonite is also a classic species of the area and is found in more restricted sites, occuring generally as elongated, tapering white crystals to several centimetres. Unfortunately,
the best specimens were mined around Such
examples are regularly labelled with the old Nevertheless,
present-day collecting has seen fine barite specimens
from the Force Crag Mine in past years; Other finds of
collector interest have been recorded |
CALCITE
BARITE |
LAKE DISTRICT The Lake
District is a tourist attraction in its own right.
However, the region has seen over recent centuries
mineral extraction activities and there are numerous old
mines Nevertheless,
collectors wishing to discover or explore IRON ORE - HEMATITE Blue fluorite
(see below), calcite, quartz and hematite, The district has been extracting the ore in modern industrial times for over 170 years. The Florence Mine at Egremont still produces small amounts of ore and has been active for almost a century. The mine has a visitor centre and displays. Additionally, trips into the mine can also be made. |
ARAGONITE |
HEMATITE
- "Kidney Ore" |
HEMATITE on Quartz |
| CALDBECK
FELLS On the northern fringes of the English
Lake District, The area is
renowned particularly
for mimetite - "campylite" variety,
pyromorphite, hemimorphite and
plumbogummite. Good hand specimens, nowadays, Several of the rare
species the Leadhills-Wanlockhead deposit - a few dozen
miles north and over the border The Caldbeck Fells
and nearby Carrock Mine at The Shap (known for scheelite
- amongst numerous other species), |
MIMETITE
- "Campylite"
variety. |
FLUORITE
- Hilton Mine, Scoredale,
Cumbria. |
FLUORITE |
Cumbrian Fluorite Though County
Durham is renowned for its fluorites - in several colours
and from several mines - The best blue
fluorites from the Egremont area can rival or surpass
those of a similar colour from any world site. Also of special
note are the fluorite specimens from the Hilton Mine,
near Appleby, Scoredale. |
the end
Further reading/ references
Book
"Minerals of the English Lake District: Caldbeck
Fells." M.P. Cooper & C.J. Stanley.
(Natural History Museum, London, 1990)
Mineralogical Record
vol 22, no.2 - Famous Mineral Localities - Pyromorphite group
minerals from the Caldbeck Fells, Cumbria, England.
(M.P. Cooper & C.J. Stanley, 1991).
UKJMM (UK Journal of Mines & Minerals)
vol.22, pp. 3-42. Twenty Years in Minerals: The Classic Areas of
Northern England. (D.I. Green & P.J. Briscoe) (2003).
© Minerals of Scotland - 2008.