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Mineral Forum
Photographs of mineral specimens submitted by Russell Society members for your help in identifying or providing more information.
This page was originally created in response to a request from George Curtis (South-West Branch) for help in identifying an unknown mineral specimen that he found. Since then there have been further requests for information on specimens and locations. In response to this the page has now become a forum for discussion and requests for information on all issues mineralogical. If you have any minerals that you would like help in giving a name to, or require more information about then why not send us a photograph and let the membership have a look and use the combined knowledge of the Society to help you. Details for submission are given below.
If you have any information or can assist with these requests you can contact the person directly at their e-mail address or via this web site.
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Minerals of Wheal Roots Mine A friend rescued this 120 mm x 100 mm plastic box of specimens from the local household waste recycling site and asked me if I could help her replace them back in their correct positions, as they had all become displaced from the typed, labelled card base. On first appearance this was just a box of inconsequential specimens produced for the tourist trade except that the provenance is given as Wheal Roots which makes it rather interesting. Wheal Roots was believed to have worked sometime between 1720 and 1780 and in 1856 it became part of the Wendron Consols Mine and working ceased not long after. The mine is now known as the Poldark Mine the popular Cornish underground tourist attraction. The box contains nine specimens, of no great merit, these are; goethite, galena, pyrite, quartz, sphalerite, granite, arsenopyrite, cassiterite and fluorite. I can find little on the minerals found in Wheal Roots but am surprised to see galena and sphalerite included. Can anybody give me any more information on this box of specimens and the mineralogy of Wheal Roots to help discover if these specimens are what the box label says? Please send any comments to Gary Morse at the web site address below. Thanks. |
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Request for More Information This specimen of dendritic galena, approx 35 mm x 35 mm, is from an old dump near Smitham Hill Chimney, East Harptree Woods, Mendip, Somerset, found March 2007 (Nick Richards collection). Dendritic galena was recorded at Clevedon by W. W. Stoddart, 1877, Proc. Bristol Nat. Soc. 2 (N.S) 68-76 and there is a specimen in Bristol City Museum, donor A. W. Kingsbury, 1941, from All Eights Field, Chewton Mendip. Sue Cowdry would welcome any comments regarding this interesting form of galena. Contact details for Sue are below. |
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Your Help Required Sue Cowdry, of the Southern Branch, has
acquired this specimen from an old collection with no
provenance. The spheres are gold metal globules embedded
in a slag like material. The whole specimen (below) is 65
mm x 40 mm and is probably from a classic location. Have
you seen material like this before? Sue would be pleased
to get any information on this material and its possible
origin.
If you can help Sue you can contact her through this site at and we shall pass on your information. |
If you have a mineral specimen that you would like help in identifying or more information on then send a photograph, provenance and as much detail about the specimen as you can to Gary Morse, webmaster, at the and let the rest of the membership give their informed opinion. Submission details for photographs are given in the Gallery Index Page.
Please let us know if you manage to identify any specimens so we can publish it here and let everybody else know what it is - Thanks.
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