Galena with Quartz

specimen number:
2063040

location:
Blackdene Mine, Ireshopeburn, Stanhope, Co. Durham, England, UK

description:
Fine old time specimen with brilliant lustrous cubic crystals of galena measuring to 3.0 cm in size across the top of a brecciated matrix coated with microscopic quartz, small dolomite crystals, and minor pyrite. In very good condition with minimal damage present. The specimen comes with several previous labels, one from the collection of Ray DeMark and the other from the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.

The Blackdene Mine, situated in Weardale near Ireshopeburn and Stanhope in County Durham, England, is set within the richly mineralized Carboniferous limestone strata of the North Pennine Orefield. Mining operations on the local mineral veins began as early as the fifteenth century for lead extraction, before transitioning to industrial production of non-metallic vein minerals in the twentieth century until the site closed in 1987. Today, the flooded and collapsed underground workings are inaccessible, but the mine is celebrated historically among mineral collectors for yielding exceptionally sharp, highly prized cubic crystal specimens featuring intense ultraviolet fluorescence.

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