Barite

specimen number:
9302344

location:
Frizington, Cumbria, England, UK

description:

A loose single partly gemmy crystal of barite from this classic locality. The specimen comes with an antique label as shown at the end of the video.

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.

Questions about this specimen?
Send an email or call us: 314-341-1811.