Fluorite with Galena

specimen number:
2292290

location:
Heights Mine, Weardale, Durham, England, UK

description:
Lustrous gemmy green cubic crystals of fluorite measuring to 1.3 cm on edge on matrix with galena. In good condition, brightly fluorescent. Nice for this classic British locality.

The Heights mine, located near Westgate in Weardale, County Durham, England, is a historic underground and open-cast operation famous for its fluorite specimens. Geologically, it is part of the Northern Pennine Orefield, where mineralizing hydrothermal fluids filled fault fractures and replaced structural layers within the Carboniferous Great Limestone sequence. This geological process created open flats and vugs lined with green fluorite crystals, often displaying interpenetrant twin habits and strong fluorescence under ultraviolet light, associated with galena, iron carbonates, and zinc minerals. Small-scale quarrying and lead extraction in the area date back to medieval times, but organized industrial mining for iron ore and subsequently fluorite flux for the steel industry took place from the nineteenth century through the twentieth century, with major underground and quarry operations peaking under companies like Weardale Minerals before commercial production finally ceased around 1982.

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