Introduction

The Southern Uplands include Dumfries & Galloway and the Borders regions. It is defined geologically as the area south of the Southern Uplands Fault. The fault spans the south-west coast near Ballantrae to the east coast near Dunbar, east of Edinburgh.

Palaeozoic rocks, mainly Ordovician and Silurian sediments predominate, though there are small areas of Carboniferous and Permian strata. Common rock types include shales and greywackes.

The area contains a few small mines and ore trial sites, either exploiting or searching for barite, hematite and copper/ lead mineralization and is similar in this fashion to the central belt of Scotland. Additionally, some less common species can also be found in the area.

The world-famous Leadhills and Wanlockhead deposit, located roughly in the northern central part of the region,
is the exception which dominates the mineral scene.

Being Scotland's most important mineral occurence,
it is reviewed separately. (see links at bottom).

SMOKY QUARTZ - Dalbeattie, Kirkcudbright.
A plate of dark chcocolate brown crystals. (spec: 75x70mms).

Mineralization may occur around the small number of granitic intrusions of the area. These are of Silurian-Devonian age and form part of the "newer granite" suite, found more typically in the Scottish Highlands.

The Criffel granite complex, to the south-west of Dumfries, is the main intrusive body of the area.

Principal granites (in red) of the Southern Uplands.

At Glendinning, in the county of Dumfries,
there is an antimony deposit where stibnite is associated with the much rarer species, semseyite.
Sphalerite is another mineral found at the site.

A small deposit of nickeline disseminated in host rock
can be found at Talnotry in Kirkcudbrightshire.

The Criffel area has yielded specimens of romanecheite, amethyst and smoky quartz as hand specimens in recent years. Small crystals of titanite and monazite
have also been found.

Nevertheless, mineralization in the area, excluding Leadhills-Wanlockhead, is on a small scale. Small hand or micromount specimens are the more typical results of collecting.

Nonetheless, there are exceptions and investigation
may pay dividends.

right - QUARTZ (Amethystine Quartz)
Criffel area, Dalbeattie, Kirkcudbright.
Intergrown group of crystals. (spec: 45x40mms).

BARITE
Tabular, bi-terminated, twinned crystals
to 2mm on massive tetrahedrite.

CHALCOPYRITE -
1mm crystals on massive tetrahedrite.

QUARTZ - ("Japan-Law" twins).
Flattened twinned crystals under 1mm.

The Coatsgate Quarry, Beattock, is another example of investigative work. A temporary exposure revealed andratite, epidote, chabazite and other species
at the site as small crystals.

The mineralization here was very similar to that of Loanhead Quarry, near Beith, in Ayrshire, SW Scotland
(see link below).

The site, as with Loanhead Quarry, is now inaccessible.

Farther east and straddling the Scotland-England border, agates may be encountered in the Cheviot Hills. They are associated with igneous rocks, like those of the typical Scottish occurences farther north.

ANDRATITE - Coatsgate Quarry, Beattock, Dumfries. Crystals to 2mms.

Perhaps not for everyone, "hot rocks" (radioactive minerals) are found near Dalbeattie (Kirkcudbright), at a bismuth-copper-uranium mineralization, similar in nature to the famous Schneeberg deposit in Saxony (Germany) - but on a far less grander scale.

Rare species to be found include native bismuth, bismutite, eulytite, lavendulane, zeunerite, schoepite and other secondary uranium species - all mainly as micromounts.

right - Native BISMUTH
Needle's Eye, near Dalbeattie, Kirkcudbright.
Platy aggregates embedded in annabergite-rich matrix.
(view c.7x5mms).