FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[James Catmur]

Jesse has kindly provided this photo to get this section started

[Jesse Fisher]

A fluorite from East Allendale, Northumberland.

[Jesse Fisher]

Witherite and Alstonite from the Fallowfields mine, near Hexham, Northumberland.

[ian jones]

Another witherite from Fallowfields.

Striated witherite crystals to 40mm with minor alstonite. Ex collection of Professor W.F. Ferrier (1865-1950), a Canadian geologist and mining engineer, who the mineral ferrierite was named for.

Repatriated from Tucson in the early 1980s.

[Jesse Fisher]

Fluorite and calcite from the Sipton Mine, East Allendale, along with a hand-written label from Arthur Russell dated 1925. I believe the "3/6" in the upper right corner of the label was the price - three shillings and six pence, which would have the modern monetary equivalent of 66 pence. It cost a bit more than that when it changed hands the last time. Expatriated from the UK in 2011.

[nurbo]

Slight correction there Jessie: pre 1971 a shilling = 12 d (d was the old term for pennies) so 3/6 = 42 d, in 1971 a shilling became 5 new pence (p) and a sixpence was translated to 2 1/2 p making 3/6 = 17 1/2 p, according to an online calculator the value in 2012 of 3/6 in 1925 is, using the retail price index, £8.45 whereas using average earnings 3/6 equates to £27.

[Leon Hupperichs]

A Baryte from the Settlingstones Mine, former Lindsay Greenbank specimen.

[Jordi Fabre]

Aggregates of unusually elongated and twinned crystals of Witherite from the classic Fallowfield Mine with small cubo-octahedral Galena crystals.
It is an old European classic that the collector Francesco S. Stoppani acquired in exchange with the Museé de l’Ècole des Mines of Paris and it is with an old label of Louis Sæmann.

[Jesse Fisher]

Interesting specimen, Jordi. I don't think I've ever seen that type of habit for witherite from Fallowfields. Here's a more typical one, associated with alstonite. The mine closed around the time of the First World War, and is now the site of a mobile home park ("caravan park" to the Brits).

[Jesse Fisher]

The Allenheads Mine, in the village of the same name was a major lead-producer during the 19th century. Lead mining ceased shortly after 1880, and few well-located specimens survive from this time period. In 1969 British Steel, in search for fluorspar for steel manufacture repoened the mine, renaming it "Beaumont" after the major lead mining company in the area during the previous century. While their search for fluorspar was not an economic success, some good specimens did emerge. Most famous were the ones from the Diana Vein, as seen above. Also produced were specimens from the nearby Henry's Vein. Fluorite specimens from Henry's Vein were quite different from the Diana Vein, being mostly untwinned purple cubes associated with siderite and occasional galena.