1986 saw the first edition of the UK Journal of Mines & Minerals. Now, with the launch of our website, we thought it time to acquaint our readers with the origins of the Journal's formation and the current editorial staff who are responsible for this rather irregular publication. Firstly the background.

In the 1970's and 80's the Doncaster and Wirksworth Mines Research Society was very active in the Midlands and Northern England with projects researching old mining sites and mineral collecting. Records of their activities, written by members of the Society, were periodically collated and photocopied for distribution within the membership. This collation was, rather ungraciously, called 'Rockbottom'. By the mid 1980's some 12 issues had been produced and had given some of the members a taste for the trials, tribulations and traumas of club magazine production. This was at a time when there were no national UK mineral magazines following the regrettable demise of both Mineral Realm and Gems. Coincidentally the then Secretary of the Doncaster et al., Jean Spence attended the annual symposium of the British Micromount Society at Leicester University and took with her for sale the accumulated surplus back copies of Rockbottom. They were all rapidly snapped up by fellow mineral enthusiasts thus confirming the need for a magazine to fill the recently created void. A suggestion by Peter Briscoe at a Rockbottom meeting was greeted with a fit of unbridled enthusiasm akin to madness as the producers of Rockbottom decided to go national. This team, comprising of (in alphabetical order) Peter Briscoe, Max Freier, David Green, Don Schofield, Jean Spence and Muriel Tissington, produced 250 copies of issue number 1, all photocopied and card bound. Jean and Muriel offered them for sale for the first time at the Harrogate Show in August 1986. The editorial in this first issue stated the lofty ambition of aiming, eventually, to achieve a magazine of comparable quality to Mineralogical Record. Sales and future subscriptions were encouraging to say the least. However, the dedication necessary in the compilation and production of this first issue should have given the editorial team some inkling of the sometimes superhuman efforts needed to produce each future edition.

Subsequent issues saw a change to a professionally printed edition on good quality paper, the introduction of colour photographs, improvements in both the quality and depth of articles and dramatic improvements in the quality of the photographs. This last area was mainly attributable to Mick Cooper who had joined the editorial staff and had taken on the duties of photographer and editor. Specific highlights include issue 10 which was primarily devoted to microminerals - the Journal has always maintained close connections with the British Micromount Society who partially sponsored this and other issues, issue 13 where was produced, as a joint publication with the Peak District Mines Historical Society, on a single subject - Minerals of the Peak District. This sixty-eight-page issue had eleven colour pages including advertisements. Issue 20 was also a single subject issue, Penberthy Croft mine in Cornwall by John Betterton with its 90 confirmed mineral species. 54 colour photographs were included which has proved a boon for micromounters.

The editorial staff of dedicated amateur publishers has inevitably changed over the intervening years and, for the six years between 1995 and 2001, has comprised just four members, three of these were from the original founding team (David, Jean and Peter) with Mick Wolfe joining them in 1994. In 2001 we were joined by Tony Stubbins and Richard Bell. From the beginning the only monetary objective of each issue has been to finance the next issue while continuing to improve the quality. This remains the case as does the fact that the journal is still being produced in the spare time of mineral enthusiasts who want to put something back into the hobby for no monetary reward.

We consider it a labour of love (most of the time anyway) but we inevitably struggle to meet the self imposed deadlines and it goes without saying that finances are always tight. We would like to take the opportunity to thank those individuals and organisations who have helped with much appreciated sponsorships from time to time.