Calcite

specimen number:
9273010

location:
Egremont, Cumbria, England, UK

description:

Gorgeous classic British specimen with colorless to red gemmy and lustrous crystals of calcite to 3.0 cm in height across the top of matrix. This is in super condition.

The Egremont mining area, situated within the West Cumbria iron ore district of Cumbria, England, is a historic underground mining center celebrated for producing spectacular mineral specimens of specular and kidney ore hematite, alongside clear, pyramidal calcite crystals. Geologically, this prolific district features Carboniferous Limestone sequences that overlie Lower Paleozoic basement rocks and are unconformably capped by Permo-Triassic sandstones. Faulting during the Triassic period allowed iron-rich, low-temperature hydrothermal fluids to migrate through the limestone, creating massive, irregular replacement bodies and cavity fillings of high-grade hematite ore. Historically, small-scale iron extraction dates back to the Romans and medieval times, but large-scale industrial underground mining boomed in the mid-to-late nineteenth century with the opening of major operations like the Florence Mine in 1891 and the nearby Ullcoats Mine. These heavily interlinked mines produced millions of tons of high-grade blast furnace ore through the twentieth century, surviving long after other regional mines closed until British Steel permanently ceased industrial extraction and shut down the main pumps in September 2007.

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