Barite

specimen number:
2062764

location:
Frizington, Cumbria, England, UK

description:
Reddish-brown lustrous crystals of barite to almost 2.0 cm in size on matrix. The color due to the presence of hematite. This is in good condition with just minimal cleaving along one edge of the matrix only. All of the prominent crystals are in good condition. Sits nicely by itself or display. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark.

Frizington, located in the West Cumberland iron mining district of Cumbria, England, evolved from a small agricultural settlement into a major industrial hub during the nineteenth-century iron ore boom. Geologically, the area is situated on the carboniferous limestone fringe of the Lake District, where circulating iron-rich hydrothermal fluids replaced host rock to form massive high-grade hematite deposits. Mineralogically, the local mines became world-famous for producing exceptional specimens of massive and botryoidal kidney ore hematite, alongside brilliant quartz, baryte, and dolomite associations. Large-scale commercial extraction intensified rapidly from the 1840s onward with the sinking of numerous deep pits, though production dwindled by the early twentieth century as international competition and resource depletion led to the eventual closure of the mines.

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