north of England minerals 2

Minerals of Scotland

An Introduction to Collector Minerals of
NORTHERN ENGLAND

West Cumbria & The Caldbeck Fells

West Cumbria - Classic Specimens
Iron Ore - Hematite - The Caldbeck Fells
Cumbrian Fluorite - Lake District

including photographs of
Aragonite - Barite - Calcite - Fluorite - Hematite - Mimetite - Quartz - Siderite

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 and aragonite.

The finest examples of these minerals from these deposits are unlikely to be repeated and are consequently much sought after by collectors.

Famed sites for calcite include the Bigrigg, Parkside and Pallaflat Mines. Frizington is a locality renowned for barite specimens.

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.
Consequently, they are the most highly prized - and priciest!

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 the turn of the 19th-20th century and tend to surface only occasionally from old collections.

Such examples are regularly labelled with the old county names of the area (Cumberland & Westmoreland).

Nevertheless, present-day collecting has seen fine barite specimens from the Force Crag Mine in past years; and more recently, the secondary lead species, pyromorphite, from the same mine.

Other finds of collector interest have been recorded and new finds will hopefully continue to be made.

BARITE - Goldscope Mine, Newlands Valley, Lake District.

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 in the area - an added incentive to mineral collectors.

The rocks are composed of a mixed variety of rock types, mainly Palaeozoic in age. The mineralogy of the area is likewise diverse and complex.

ARAGONITE - Stockhowhall Quarry, Kirkland area, Cumbria. Elongated crystal group (c 30mms).

Mineralization is generally of copper, lead and zinc ores with some cobalt and bismuth. The secondary mineralization has yielded a wide array of recorded species in the area.

Another renowned mine in the Lake District is the Force Crag Mine which has undergone several periods of activity in its long history.

Perhaps better known sites in the area include The Shap quarries and the Carrock Mine - the latter well-known for scheelite.

NOTE: Collectors wishing to discover or explore the mines should take heed of bye-laws and restrictions and seek access beforehand!

Iron Ore - Hematite

Blue fluorite, calcite, quartz and hematite, the latter in several habits, including the famous botryoidal "Kidney Ore" habit, are famed mineral species from the iron ore deposits of the Egremont area of Cumbria.

The district has been extracting the ore in modern industrial times for over 175 years. The Florence Mine at Egremont still produces small amounts of ore and has been active for a century. The mine has a visitor centre,displays and mine visits can also be made.

SIDERITE - Force Crag Mine, Braithwaite, Lake District, Cumbria. Golden-brown platy crystals in rosette-like aggregates (view: 45x30mms).

HEMATITE on Quartz - Florence Mine, Egremont, Cumbria, England. "Iron rose" group of tabular crystals to 20mms on quartz.

HEMATITE - "Kidney Ore" - Florence Mine, Egremont, Cumbria. Red botyroidal aggregates in massive ore.

Caldbeck Fells

On the northern fringes of the English Lake District, the Caldbeck Fells is a renowned specimen area for mineral collectors.

The Dry Gill, Red Gill, Roughton Gill and Driggeth mines are among its most well-known sites.

The area is renowned particularly for mimetite - "campylite" variety, pyromorphite, hemimorphite and plumbogummite.

Good hand specimens, nowadays, from the Caldbeck Fells are, however, not readily available.

Several of the rare species the Leadhills-Wanlockhead deposit - a few dozen miles north and over the border in Scotland - is famed for, are also found here. Such examples include linarite, caledonite, susannite, mattheddleite and leadhillite.

The Caldbeck Fells and nearby Carrock Mine at The Shap fall within the Lake District National Park and collecting restrictions are enforced.

MIMETITE - "Campylite" variety. - Dry Gill, Caldbeck Fells, Cumbria, England. (45x30 mms).

Cumbrian Fluorite

Though County Durham is renowned for its fluorites - in several colours and from several mines - Cumbria cannot be overlooked for high quality specimens of this popular mineral species either.

Specimens from the area occasionally come on the collector market. Such was the case of Hilton Mine fluorite recently with rich yellow crystals to a few centimeters.

Likewise, occasional finds are still made of small transparent crystals of a delicate blue colour at the iron mines of Egremont. The best blue fluorites from the Egremont area can rival or surpass those of a similar colour from any world site.

Of special note for Cumbrian fluorite, the Hilton Mine is a classic site for the species. Here, it is found typically as cubic crystals with an orange, amber or yellow colour (see photo at top).

FLUORITE - Florence Mine, Egremont, Cumbria, England.
Cavity in hematite lined with pastel blue cubic crystals.