Minerals of Scotland

STRONTIAN

The Minerals of Strontian
Other Species.

Strontian's Other Minerals

including photographs of
Barite - Chamosite - Galena - Hydrozincite
Kainosite-Y - Pyrite - Sphalerite

Strontian Links

GALENA on Barite - Whitesmith Mine, Strontian, Argyll.
Octahedral and dodecahedral galena crystals to 5mms on cockscomb barite. (spec: 60x30mms).

GALENA

This lead ore mineral was extracted mainly in the early days of Strontian's mining history. However, crystals are uncommon. When found, they are generally small, to under 1cm, but most commonly the mineral is found as veins or as lumpy aggregates. As such, most of the best crystal examples date from the earlier mining periods.

Nonetheless, there was a small find of galena in 2000, when sharp, cuboctahedral crystals to a few millimetres
on creamy-white, platy barite of a "cockscomb" habit
were encountered.

These examples were etched from enclosing carbonates. Some crystals have hollows and holes apparent
since the dissolution of the enclosing carbonate.
The crystals are dull in lustre.

GALENA
Whitesmith Mine, Strontian, Argyll.
Twinned crystals to 5mms.

PYRITE

Small microscopic crystals are occasionally found. Crystals are normally simple, unstriated cubes,
but some twinned crystals in several forms also occur.
Pyrite is additionally found as minute, simple, cubic crystal inclusions in harmotome crystals
and as micro-crystal druses growing on selective faces of small discoidal, calcite crystals.
More recently, some small hand specimens were found as crystal druses covering a few centimetres.

PYRITE - Whitesmith Mine, Strontian.
Twinned crystals to 1mm.

right - PYRITE - Clashgorm Mine, Strontian.
Sub-millimetre pyrite crystals as inclusions in harmotome.

Barite has been the focus of mining operations in recent years and it is usually found as massive, white veins which may occasionally have embedded partially-developed, blackish sphalerite crystals or other sulphides.

Small, tabular barite micro-crystals do occur and a few specimens with a "cockscomb" habit have also been found, associated with galena and occasionally strontianite.

right - BARITE - Whitesmith Mine, Strontian.
White, "cockscomb-habit", platy crystals, with a peppering of sulphides, sandwiched between brown strontianite.

SPHALERITE - Clashgorm Mine, Strontian.
(spec: 60x28mms).

SPHALERITE (Zinc Sulphide)

Sphalerite at Strontian is commonly found as crystalline masses. However, small black crystals, often embedded in barite or in the granite walls of veins, are also found.

Crystals generally exhibit tetragonal forms
and are generally complexely twinned.

More recently, a number of small hand specimens of jet black, highly lustrous, sharp, tetragonal crystals averaging about 6mms have been found.

HYDROZINCITE - Whitesmith Mine, Strontian, Argyll.
Globular and botryoidal aggregates. (view c. 7x5mms).

HYDROZINCITE (Hydrous Zinc Carbonate)

Small patches of this secondary zinc mineral have recently been found associated with sphalerite, galena, brewsterite, calcite, kainosite and gypsum. The mineral at Strontian,
as is commonly the case, is also fluorescent.

KAINOSITE-Y

This uncommon, rare-earth-bearing species, containing yttrium, has recently been discovered at Strontian.
Kainosite occurs at this location in an atypical environment (a low-temperature hydrothermal deposit).

It has been found at the Whitesmith, Corrantee & Barite (Clashgorm) mines as radial crystal groups
of transparent, bladed crystals to 1mm and as spherules of a yellowish to white colour or as powdery coatings.
The spherules rarely exceed 1mm and are composed of minute, divergent, elongated lath-like crystals.

Three views of kainosite-Y: (from left to right: a kainosite spherule as seen through a transparent, tabular calcite crystal and resting on brown chamosite; white kainosite spherules on brown chamosite and on scalenohedral, calcite crystals coated in chamosite).