leadhills & wanlockhead- species

Minerals of Scotland

LEADHILLS &
WANLOCKHEAD

PHOTO GALLERY

Ore & Gangue Minerals

including photographs of
Galena - Calcite - Sphalerite - Barite
Quartz - Ankerite - Pyrite - Chalcopyrite

Both Leadhills and Wanlockhead mined galena (lead sulphide) as the main lead ore.
Occasionally, secondary minerals derived from the alteration of galena were also used as ore.

Smaller amounts of copper and zinc were extracted from the common sulphide minerals of these elements: chalcopyrite (Copper) and sphalerite (Zinc), which both occured throughout the orebody.

Quartz, calcite and barite were the predominant gangue minerals at both locations.
These minerals had no commercial value to the mining operations.

SPHALERITE - BARITE - QUARTZ

Sphalerite, the main ore of zinc at Leadhills & Wanlockhead, occurs both as fairly pure and as iron-rich examples, ranging from dark brown to jet black in colour. It was exploited for economic profit at Wanlockhead,
particularly in the later stages of the mining period, and where it was more common.
It is found in its massive form and as crystals; the latter habit being commonly as intergrown crystal groups.

Barite (barium sulphate) is not often well-crystallized, but small, tabular crystals can be found.
In the days of mining, better and larger examples were recovered.
Commonly, it is massive and may comprise the matrix for other crystallized species.

Quartz is common throughout the mining area. Often massive as vein material, small crystals
forming drusy crusts may also found.

PYRITE - CHALCOPYRITE

Pyrite and chalcopyrite can be found associated with other species but tend to be supplementary
rather than the main examples of specimens. Such a case are the calcite scalenohedra specimens
with pyrite inclusions (see photo above), typical of the New Glencrieff Mine at Wanlockhead.



	PYRITE - (Iron Sulphide - "fool's gold"). New Glencrieff Mine, Wanlockhead, Dumfries. A 4mm crystal on calcite.	CHALCOPYRITE - (Copper Iron Sulphide). Katystakelinn Vein, Leadhills, Lanarkshire. A 3 mms crystal.

COLLECTOR SPECIMENS: Nevertheless, numerous, well-crystallized examples of calcite have been preserved particularly from the New Glencrieff Mine from the original mining period. These are perhaps the most aesthetic specimens and most commonly encountered, from a collectors viewpoint, of all the minerals of the orefield. Of interest to the collector also are fine galena specimens from both the New Glencrieff Mine at Wanlockhead and from the Leadhills mines. The ore veins of the New Glencrieff Mine were quite regularly rich in cavities - allowing space for minerals to grow and form well-developed crystals. Most, if not all, these mineral specimens date from the mining period. Collectors should note that numerous "old classic" specimens, from both Leadhills and Wanlockhead, do not always bear their precise mine provenance. Unfortunately, this information may frequently be of a generalized nature.	CALCITE New Glencrieff Mine, Wanlockhead. Open cavity with prismatic crystals to 1cm.

SPHALERITE & ANKERITE on Quartz. Katystakelinn Vein, Leadhills. Drusy quartz partially covered with biscuit-coloured, rhombic ankerite (calcium iron carbonate) and sphenoidal, black sphalerite.	GALENA - Leadhills. Intergrown cubo-octahedral xtls. to 2cms.

CALCITE - New Glencrieff Mine, Wanlockhead. A 25mm scalenohedral crystal speckled with pyrite crystal inclusions.	BARITE - New Glencrieff Mine, Wanlockhead. A transparent, prismatic crystal to 3cms.

Leadhills - Wanlockhead Main Page	Secondary Copper species Malachite, Brochantite, Aurichalcite	Secondary Zinc Minerals Hemimorphite - Greenockite - Veszelyite	Secondary Lead Species Pyromorphite, Vanadinite, Descloizite, Minium.
Main Site Links page	Secondary Lead Minerals Anglesite, Cerussite	Secondary Lead/ Copper Species Linarite	Scottish Type Locality Species
Home page	Site Photos, Map & Locality Species List	Type Locality Species Caledonite, Leadhillite, Lanarkite	Galloway Region Dumfries & Kirkcudbright