Fluorite (OXF-0024)

specimen number:
9273150

location:
Diana Maria Mine, Weardale, Co. Durham, England, UK

description:

Gorgeous vibrant green glassy gemmy twinned crystals of fluorite measuring to 1.0 cm in size across the top of matrix with minor quartz. This is in good condition, one area that appears to be damaged is natural crystallization. This is shown up close in the video. Brightly fluorescent.

The Diana Maria mine, located in Frosterley within the Weardale valley of County Durham, England, is a contemporary commercial mining operation dedicated exclusively to the recovery of high-quality mineral specimens. Geologically, the deposit sits within the North Pennine Orefield and exploits the Sutcliffe Vein, a hydrothermal vein structure that cuts through the Mississippian-aged Great Limestone member. Hydrothermal fluids migrating through the limestone deposited massive layers of fluorite, calcite, quartz, and galena, producing deep green cubic crystals that display intense, daylight-activated bluish-purple fluorescence due to trace amounts of rare earth elements in the crystal lattice. Although the site originated as part of a mid-nineteenth century open-cut limestone quarrying operation and was briefly prospected in the 1970s by regional collectors, formal underground mining as a standalone specimen enterprise began in the summer of 2017 under the ownership of UK Mining Ventures Limited. The operation has remained continuously active up through recent years, utilizing careful mechanized drilling and hand-scaling techniques to expose a succession of mineralized pockets that supply the global collector market with world-class fluorite specimens.

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