Pyromorphite

Thanks Rock, some very nice pictures, which I have started adding.
But do some have a slight blue cast?

Regards,
Ralph

Ralph,
no means to seize your pyro article but don´t you think it would make sense we may work on the german pyromorphites in a separate thread (as in fluorite best of) as it could become a quite large portion of the whole best of? I could set it up as a sub-thread and work with Sebastian on it to 'compose' the first preformatted draft which finally could be transferred back to the 'main' article. What do you think?

Cheers
Roger



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/19/2010 02:08PM by Roger Lang.

Hi Roger
good idea - go for it!

Regards,
Ralph

Hello,

I think that will be a good idea. There will be lots of information to discuss.

I have uploaded a first pyromorphite from Schauinsland Mt., others will follow.

started! [www.mindat.org]

Sebastian, i have to stop for today ... i first wanted to create the links to the localities and do a bit of first formatting of the locality entries (will have an hour tomorrow to do so) before adding description and pictures. Please post your contributions in the thread linked above.

cheers
Roger

Ralph, Let me know which ones you think have a blue cast, and Ill try and fix them.

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.

Re: British localities

While Barstow's cut was named for him, he hasn't been the one who opened it up. There was another group of collectors working there, who used explosives to open up the area around a promising outcrop. Unfortunately, they made a big mistake in estimating the amount and totally blew up the area. Though, they were right in guessing that there would be some trouble after the explosion and decided that it would be better to leave. When Barstow arrived, he only had to dig a little further to break into the old stope which was full of pyromorphites.

There is a number of localities that need to be added:

- Wheal Alfred, Phillack, Cornwall
Although there aren't any new finds, old material becomes available to collectors from time to time. The last good chance to acquire a fine one was when Jordí Fabre sold the Folch collection a couple of years ago which included several Wheal Alfred pyromorphites that once were in the collection of Arthur Russell. Unfortunately, we only have few photos of really good ones in our database.

- Penberthy Crofts Mine, St Hilary, Cornwall
In the 1980s, a group of collectors made their way into the mine and recovered a large amount of reasonable specimens (a few of them outstanding). They are often associated with bayldonite - an association that is pretty rare anywhere else.

There are a lot more Cornish pyro localities (Menheniot area, Trevinnick mine, Pentire Glaze mine, ...), but most of them did not produce any specimens that can compete in terms of quality or originality (i.e. particular habits and/or associated species) with the best of the best on an international scale. Wheal Pool near Helston might be worth mentioning, but there are only a few specimens known (we have a photo in the database, though !), so I'm not sure whether we should include it here.

When we present Roughten Gill specimens, we really should take the time to discuss some of the sub-localities individually:

- Roughten Gill Mine proper: These specimens are old; most of them were recovered when the mine was still active. The best combos of pyromorphite with sky-blue plumbogummite came from the mine itself. On several occasions, a limited number of such specimens was also recovered from outcrops in the area, but these only reached thumbnail sizes.
- Outcrops of the Roughten Gill South vein below Iron Crag: These outcrops produced most of the well-known spindle-shaped crystals on iron-stained matrix.
- Barstow's cut: this locality produced a very large number of specimens and it needs to be noted, that many of them were of a rather low quality (damaged crystals). Even the bad ones, however, are occasionally traded for high prices (especially abroad) and I have seen dealers here in Germany who insist that this is because the material is rare. This may be the case with specimens from the mine, but for most other localities in the area, it is simply not true. Even the good ones from Barstow's cut are not particularly rare (good Cornish ones, for instance, are a lot rarer). The most stunning feature of these specimens is probably the wide range of colours. Some specimens had bright yellow pyros on one side and grass green ones on the other. Analyses confirmed that they are all pyromorphites and that they even have almost the same P/As ratio ! (however, some people keep on labelling the yellow ones as mimetites).

The Caldbeck Fells localities also produced a large number of unusual habits and aggregations and all sorts of colours and colour-zoning.

Finally, we should add the Welsh lead mine field, for which the Bwlch Glas Mine will be a good representative. An important find was made there only a few decades ago, and many of the specimens found their way in foreign collection. The typical acicular habit, and the irregular integrowth of the crystals found on many specimens make these pyros characteristic and worth mentioning.

Peter,
Thats a lot of good information that will eventually find its way into the article.

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.

Hi Peter
This is great, I will integrate the info shortly

Regards,
Ralph

Reference for the Caldbeck Fells localities:

Cooper, M.P., and Stanley, C.J. (1990): Minerals of the English Lake District. Caldbeck Fells. Natural History Museum Publications (London), 160 pp.

Hi Ralph,

I added Longvilly, Belgium photos to your article and got rid of a couple of bugs

Cheers

Harjo

Hello Ralph,

Im my humble opnion, for such a important Pyromorphite locality the Bunker Hill Mine is still underrepresented with pictures.
Maybe you could use this picture to for the article:

[www.mindat.org]

Regards,
Mario Pauwels

Thanks Harjo for your additions, and Mario for your photo.

It mostly still needs some more words though, especially with the USA and UK localities, from someone whos knows a bit about them.

Regards,
Ralph

Here one fron Afghanistan:

Pyromorphite
Gologa Mine, Anar Dara District, Farah Province, Afghanistan
4,2 x 3,5 x 2,4 cm.



Josele

Thanks Jose, Its added now. Do you have any more information about the mine and its specimens?

Regards,
Ralph