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EditorialDavid GreenIn this edition of the UKJMM, priority has been given to articles describing new, unusual or rare minerals from the British Isles. These articles, together with those published in the last edition of the journal and the recent Journal of the Russell Society make a significant addition to the mineralogy of the British Isles, increasing the number of species recorded by more than 1%. This is timely, as the end of 2005 is the cut off date for references to be included in a book currently being finalised by Andy Tindle. This will be the first volume to attempt a comprehensive description of the minerals of Britain and Ireland for 150 years. Publication is expected toward the end of 2006. We have been fortunate for this edition of the journal to receive a donation
from the sale of specimens in the collection of the late John Dickinson.
John passed away in December 2004 and his obituary was published in
UKJMM No. 25. The donation has allowed us to increase the length of
this edition by eight pages, including more articles than would otherwise
be possible. We are grateful to Richard Bell who proposed the idea and
who has successfully found new homes for many of Johns specimens. The Sussex Mineral and Lapidary Society holds a mineral show at the Clair Hall in Haywards Heath in early November each year. The society has encouraged displays by private collectors and museums for many years and these mark the event out as one of the best in the UK. This year the society instigated a mineral competition along the lines of those held at the major shows in the United States. Five collectors were invited to fill a display case with British fluorite specimens, to be judged by Alan Hart of the Natural History Museum. The results were spectacular. Since the theme was fluorite, north-of-England localities featured extensively. Only one case, from Ian Jones collection, had a significant number of specimens from elsewhere in the British Isles. Ian produced a superb display containing fluorite from Cornish localities, Wales and northern England. There was a particularly nice colour zoned specimen from the little known Vaynor Quarry near Merthyr Tydfil and a group of purple cubes from Halkyn Mountain in north Wales. The Cornish specimens included a small group of cut stones, these are common enough from northern England, but very rarely seen from anywhere else in the British Isles. Next to Ians case, Peter Briscoe produced a display themed on a single mine. Cambokeels Mine (sometimes known also as Cammock Eals), which closed in 1990, is one of Weardales less well known fluorite localities. Peter assembled a superb collection of fluorite in pastel shades of green, purple and blue together with specimens coated in sparkling pyrite crusts. A couple of photographs of the mine provided an interesting backdrop. Simon Harrison produced a stunning case of specimens from classic north of England localities including exceptional pieces from Rotherhope Fell Mine, Boltsburn Mine and Heights Mine. The Rotherhope Fell material included a classic off-matrix purple fluorite group with yellow outer zones and a large group of purple cubes lightly sprinkled with pyramidal quartz. There were also several large transparent purple to somewhat brown (the colour is hard to describe) twins from Boltsburn Mine and a large elongated yellow fluorite cube on barite from Hilton Mine, which was a real jaw dropper. Richard Belsons case featured a large group of clear fluorite from Heights Mine next to a bed of deep green cubes from the same locality. At either end of his display there were two lovely large polished pieces of Blue John. Surprisingly, this Derbyshire classic was absent from other displays. Last, but by no means least, Roland Thomas brought a case of fine coloured fluorites from Northern England. The most notable was a superb old-time green specimen from Middlehope Mine. This locality will be further described in the next UKJMM. Ian Jones case was judged the best by Alan Hart, though the real winners were the showgoers who got to see five superb cases of material not normally on public display. Congratulations to the members of SMLS who organised the show and to Ian Bruce of Crystal Classics who sponsored some of the cases. And finally ... next year, the show will be on the 11th November and the theme will be barite. |
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Mineralisation in the Granite Pegmatites
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Left:
A gemmy blue water-droplet apatite
crystal 1.2 mm tall on mica from location 3. Jeremy Hooper collection.
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Double page spreads from this article. |
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Left:
A single euhedral pink bipyramid of ancylite-(Ce), 0.8 mm across
from Whitesmith Mine with radiating spherulitic aggregates of lath-like
kainosite-(Y) 0.3 mm across on brown crusts of chamosite. |
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A double page spread from this article.
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Pseudocubic white arsenogoyazite crystals 0.3 mm on edge collected by Richard Belson at Wheal Cock. Photo: Julie Ballard |
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Left:
Wine-red translucent cuprite crystal 1.0 mm across with unequally
developed cube, octahedron and dodecahedron faces on drusy crustose
malachite. Neil Hubbard collection |
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Double page spreads from this article. |
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Mountains and Orefields: metal mining landscapes in
mid and north-east Wales
by Nigel Jones, Mark Walters and Pat Frost (2004)
Rob Ixer
Agates
by Johann Zenz (2005)
Robin Field