Millerite

Ian, I'll add deep navigation and ferndale to the article, thanks for the input

Cheers

Harjo

Harjo,

Contribution to your excellent millerite article:

Norway, Telemark, Kragerø, Valberg quarry.

A small find of excellent specimens with aggregates of millerite crystals to 3 cm was made in the Valberg quarry near the city of Kragerø in 1996 by Aslak Jensen. There is a large specimen on display at the Kongsberg mining museum and a few good specimens also exist in private collections in Norway.

(Harjo: you can use the photo I have uploaded to Mindat of one of the best specimens from the find).
Knut

Harjo,

You absolutely need to describe the millerites from the Saranay locality in the Urals. They are some of the best in the world. From a mineralogical point of view, the large, bronze cleavages of millerite from the Marbridge mine in Canada are also quite interesting and showy for what they are - but you probably have to have insight into ore mineralogy to really appreciate those !).

Knut



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/2009 09:18PM by Knut Eldjarn.

Knut, the Valberg specimen is in the article, along with your info.
Could you upload a photo of a Marburg mine specimen (if you have acces to any..)?
Thanks for the input!

Cheers

Harjo

.....and info and photo of a very good Sarany specimen...? The micro photos that are on Mindat til now don't show their real splendour...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/2009 10:16PM by Harjo Neutkens.

Can I humbly propose one of my own specimens of welsh millerite as part of this project?

A few photos of this specimen to choose from, for example:

Millerite from Markham Colliery, Caerphilly, Wales, UK	© J.Ralph

Millerite from Markham Colliery, Caerphilly, Wales, UK	© J.Ralph

It's quite a spectacular piece of free-standing millerite on matrix, even if I say so myself! By far and away the best thing I've self-collected. Full specimen is about 10cm across.

Of course, up to editors to decide entirely on the merits of the specimen/photos/location and no favouritism please!

Jolyon



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/2009 10:50PM by Jolyon Ralph.

Jolyon, can you give more info about specimens from the locality, like how many good specimens were found?
Absolutely no favouritism guaranteed.....very nice piece btw

Cheers

Harjo

btw did you get the Strahlen calendar..?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/2009 10:56PM by Harjo Neutkens.

I got the calendar, it's hanging up behind me as we speak with a great cerussite for March. Thank you!

In the 1990s dumps from the Markham colliery were a favourite spot for collectors looking for millerite. While I am unaware of the number of high-quality specimens that came out, I can imagine that a fair number did. Ian probably knows better than I about this.

Another possibility is to cover the South Wales coal mines as one geographical region in terms of millerite, and discuss that as a group rather than individual sites (although individual sites would be noted).

Jolyon

OK.
I think there can be multiple localities in Wales in the article as it is, Ian noted Wales delivered many fine Millerite specimens from different Collieries so the region can justifiably take on some extra weight in the article.
The same goes for the Siegerland in Germany, many great Millerite specimens from as many different classic localities.
I'll put in the Markham specimen, and maybe Ian can tell us more about how prolific the locality was regarding Millerite specimens.

Cheers

Harjo

I updated some Siegerland and Ruhr mines with information from Bode, Wittern: Mineralien und Fundstellen BDR 1989

Very few good millerites came from Markham colliery, they are pretty uncommon. To my regret, I never managed to collect a good one there myself.

When I have a bit of time spare, I'll fill out the coalfield entries and put something about relative abundance at the more important sites together with something about the distribution across the coalfield in relation to the different types of coals found there.

Thanks Ian!

Harjo,

Notable Cornish localities are the Greystones quarry and Wheal Sparnon.

pH

Thanks Peter!
I already added Greystones quarry a couple of days ago, but do you have more info (and maybe a photograph) on specimens from Wheal Sparnon?

Cheers

Harjo

The most complete info on the Orford nickel mine is:

TARASSOFF, P., and GAULT, R.A. (1994) Famous mineral localities: the Orford nickel mine, Québec, Canada. Mineralogical Record 25, 327-345.

Laszlo

Thanks Laszlo!

Collins (The minerals of Cornwall and Devon, 2nd ed., 1892) also lists the Pengelley Mine, St Ewe as a source of fine Cornish millerites.

Thanks Peter!
It'll have to wait a bit, I have to play Bach Matthäus Passion every day now until the 10th of April.....

Cheers

Harjo

Harjo,
You have an Australian and two Canadian millerite localities that need to moved into their proper alphabetical by country positions neat the top of the millerite article. You only have 28 edits so far on the millerite article. A modest number indeed. Well see if we can boost you up to 50 or more. Some of mine are approaching 100 edits. Stiff upper lip!

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.

Harjo,
i updated locality info of the Petersbach Mine, Eichelhardt [www.mindat.org]
.. may be useful for the article,

Another region which yielded excellent german millerites was the Saar coal basin [www.mindat.org]
.. but unfortinately no pictures are posted until now. Will try to change this ... i should have a few specimens somewhere in my collcetion.

cheers
Roger