The Rockery - Ores
Richards Mountain Pages
Fluorspar
Locations : Swaledale, and generally around lead deposits
This one came from the spoil heaps of the old lead mines in upper Swaledale.
I haven't yet checked it out against UV light (under which it should glow),
as I don't have one. Its cubic crystals, and hardness gave its identity away instead.
As seen on TV :- watch Great Walks (4) - Yorkshire Dales
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Iron Pyrites & Sulphur
Locations : Isle Of Wight, Lyme Regis
The South coast of the Isle of Wight is well known as a dinosaur graveyard. Amongst the fossil beds
there are layers of heavy clay engulfing a fossil forest. The wood turns black, oozing sulphur and iron
rich minerals, giving rise to iron pyrites. Some of the sulphur in this specimen has re-emerged.
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Galena
Locations : Tyndrum, Swaledale, Wanlockhead
These samples came from the spoil heaps on the slopes of Meall Odhar, overlooking Tyndrum. They're distinguished
by their near black streak, and shiny grey cubic structure. Remember not to lick your fingers after handling
them, since lead causes brain damage.
Stannite
Locations : Cornwall
Stannite is an ore of tin. It can be found in the spoils of old tin mines in Cornwall, as a blueish grey grainy stuff mixed in
with granite and quartz crystals (as seen here).
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Smithsonite
Locations : Wanlockhead
Smithsonite is an ore of zinc. Small amounts of this ore can be found amongst the spoil heaps of the old lead mines at
Wanlockhead and nearby Leadhills in the Southern Uplands.
Haematite
Locations : Wanlockhead
The word haematite stems from the Latin for blood. It was named for its reddish globbular appearance - much like a disected
bit of body. Its an ore of iron; and like the smithsonite above, it can be found in small quantities in the spoil from the
old lead mines around Wanlockhead.
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