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Jolyon & Katya Ralph's Blog

Stuff I found over the weekend - Video

27th Jul 2009

Last Saturday I visited the Machen Quarry in Wales as part of a joint visit organized by the Russell Society and the Sidcup Lapidary and Mineral Society.

Machen is a working quarry operated by Hanson (part of the HeidelbergCement group), who have a good relationship with official mineral societies such as the Russell Society and the Sidcup Group. In order to collect in Machen you can ONLY visit as part of one of the officially-organized society trips (and you need full protective clothing including high-visibility clothing, hard-hat, safety goggles and steel-capped boots). Please don't call or write asking for individual access, as it just wastes their time having to say "No" all the time. There are plenty of opportunities to visit Machen and similar quarries as a member of the Russell Society or one of the other local clubs.

So, what did I find?

Calcite, Baryte, Galena, Aurichalcite and Hemimorphite.

Have a look at the video...

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Comments

that barite... the one you REALLY wanted. i prefer it with calcite however the other one may look prettier if you could remove the calcite. who knows. the one looks nice the other kinda grungy. just my two cents. of course i collect bancroft where most everything is grungy!

Matt Neuzil
28th Jul 2009 8:18am

Lovely finds, Jolyon!
Great barytes indeed!

Eddy Vervloet
29th Jul 2009 7:43am

There's a Public Right of Way which runs across the NW end of the quarry (there's even a gate). This does NOT mean mineral collecting is allowed (that's why I always take the dog!)

Lloyd Llewellyn
30th Jul 2009 2:18am

Sorry, that's the North-east end of the quarry.

Lloyd Llewellyn
30th Jul 2009 6:37pm

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