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Jul 2019Re: Please help me identify this specimenReply from Colin Robinson in Identity Help.Calcite without a doubt and you are very unlikely to find witherite around Greenhow. Calcite was a major constituent of many of the mineral veins of the area and was in fact mined for ornamental use in some places.
Jul 2019Re: Mine or mineReply from Colin Robinson in General.Many years ago I had a philosophy lecturer who described debates such as this as 'intellectual masturbation'. At the end of the day all that matters is that the meaning is understood. Caps, lower case is irrelevant...except to pedants.
May 2019Re: Hematite septaria locality questionReply from Colin Robinson in Identity Help.I lived in west Cumbria for 12 years and have collected extensively there for about 35 years. I know kidney ore in all its many disguises and even water-worn kidney ore does not look like the specimen pictured. While it may well have hematite in it I'd be 99.9 percent certain it's not from west ...
May 2019Re: Hematite septaria locality questionReply from Colin Robinson in Identity Help.NOT kidney ore from west Cumbria.
Sep 2018Re: Fluorite - Heights Mine, Westgate, Weardale, North Pennines, Co. Durham, England, UKReply from Colin Robinson in Photos.Several Weardale locations, including Heights, produced fluorites with bevelled edges. What is the matrix of the piece?
For some reason the bevelled edges are usually found on twinned crystals and rarely on un-twinned ones.
Sep 2018Re: Nuclear Medical Imaging. How Radioactive Am I?Reply from Colin Robinson in Education.My wife has recently had a couple of radionuclide scans, one using Tc99. She was advised to avoid being close to small children or pregnant women for 24 hours after which time there would be so little radioactivity as to be barely noticeable above background. I can't imagine there would be enough ...
Sep 2018Re: Does anyone share my feelings about micromount collecting?Reply from Colin Robinson in General.One is not obliged to become an expert in anything nor need one spend a lot of money. The total cost of all my kit including microsope, camera and lenses, etc. was under£800 UK pounds and it all sits happily on my work desk along with laptop and mini hi-fi. The attached picture is of a ...
Jul 2018Re: Obtaining HCL in the UKReply from Colin Robinson in General.Michael,
brick and patio cleaner is readily available from hardware suppliers. The big names like B+Q and Homebase usually have it although you need to check that it does contain HCl as some are just detergent based. I've been using it for decades and usually dilute it about 5 to 1 from the ...
Jun 2018Langdon minesPosted by Colin Robinson in Improving Mindat.org.I notice in the entries for Teesdale that there is a Langdon Beck Mine. No such mine exists. There were two groups of mines working a complex of veins mainly to the north of Langdon Beck. The westernmost group is known as Langdon Head mines while those to the east are simply the Langdon Mines. Both ...
Feb 2018Re: Slope mining questionReply from Colin Robinson in Education.In the north of England 'rises' were frequently dug upwards both for access and ventilation. Never heard of any diagonal ones and I can't see any reason for it. Inclines/declines (dibs) are usually driven at a gradient of around 1 in 4. Some levels were also driven from a line of connected shafts.
Dec 2017Re: Red Grooves MineReply from Colin Robinson in General.Having spent many hours wandering in and out of the old mines of Teesdale I can assure you that the openings in question are not levels but drainage conduits. There are open levels in the area but they are the standard layout and construction used by the lessees,
Why people with no knowledge ...
Dec 2017Red Grooves MinePosted by Colin Robinson in General.I notice in the description for Red Grooves Mine, Teesdale that there are 'levels with corbelled arch portals, generally 1.1 metre wide by 1.3 metres high'. Presumably they were worked by elves. These 'levels' are in fact just drainage conduits to allow the mine waste to be piled up over existing ...
Nov 2017Re: Photography HelpReply from Colin Robinson in Mineral Photography.Probably the simplest and cheapest option would be to get a set of extension tubes which will allow you to get much closer to your specimen. They usually come in sets of three and can be used singly or together to gain magnification, effectively turning your lens into a macro one. If money is no ...
Feb 2019Re: Hematite?Reply from Colin Robinson in Identity Help.The streak of haematite is distinctly red. Brownish and it could well be goethite or some other hydrated oxide of iron.
Oct 2017Re: Lindsay Greenbank R.I.P. (1941-2017)Reply from Colin Robinson in General.Very sad news indeed for those of us who honed our collecting skills in the North Pennines and Caldbeck Fells. Lindsay was in my mind THE great collector of the later years of the late twentieth century and he taught me many things, perhaps the greatest being: the best tool in any collector's ...
Jul 2017Re: Coire Dhorcail Knoydart, Scotland.Reply from Colin Robinson in Field Collecting.The grid ref given on mindat is miles from Knoydart...unless there are two Knoydarts!
The mica quarries and associated pegmatites on Knoydart produced good garnets and blue beryl amongst other things. A good friend of mine spent a few days up there back in the early nineties and found some ...
Apr 2017Re: Baryte likely to be from DerbyshireReply from Colin Robinson in Improving Mindat.org.Andy, this particular American dealer is renowned for mis-attributing UK specimens, as has been pointed out here many times. In the end you'll get fed up of pointing out the errors.
Apr 2017Re: Pronunciation of mineral namesReply from Colin Robinson in General.Asking for the correct pronunciation of a mineral name assumes there is a 'correct' one. Look at how the Americans and the English pronounce tomato !!
Jan 2017Re: Smithsonite, cobaltoan versus manganoanReply from Colin Robinson in General.The removal of "descriptive adjectives" from descriptions of minerals can be a disservice as they, at the very least, denote a color. No complains about artist colors being called cobalt blue or cobalt yellow even if they do not contain cobalt, etc. The term designates a particular hue for ...
Oct 2016Re: GeodesReply from Colin Robinson in Field Collecting.Scotland offers you the best option. It has produced a stunning array of agates and often the nodules they are found in have hollow centres, ie. geodes. Just google Scottish agates or geodes and you'll get some idea. A little further south in Northumberland you can also find them and after that it ...
Oct 2016Re: TipsReply from Colin Robinson in General.Tailings are produced as part of the ore processing, rather than from the mining and are small fragments of waste rock. Slimes are very fine particles of the same material. They may well be called something else in other parts of the world. Paul, in the U.K. colliery waste tips are known as slag ...
Oct 2016Re: TipsReply from Colin Robinson in General.and some people work rocks for tips....
Oct 2016Re: TipsReply from Colin Robinson in General.David Von Bargen Wrote:
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> Short for tipple.
> Mainly places where coal was loaded onto coal
> train cars.
NOT places where coal was tipped into train cars (trucks or wagons, as we call them here). A tip is any heap of mine waste as ...
Sep 2016Re: Hilton Mine FluoritesReply from Colin Robinson in General.You are being far too sceptical, Keith. An awful lot of material came out of Hilton over the years, from almost colourless through pale to deep yellow and even almost brown. Some was heavily included with sulphides and some had gem clarity. In truth, a wide variety, and don't forget Hilton worked ...
Jul 2016Re: Miners LanguageReply from Colin Robinson in General.In the 1960s the late J.R. Foster-Smith produced a glossary of terms used in mining in the North Pennines of England. It ran to well over 300 words/phrases and, on his own admission, was not comprehensive. Dowk and famp are two of my favourites and both refer to rock types/vein filling.
Jun 2016Re: missing link??Reply from Colin Robinson in General.Paul, any chance you could delete the article and upload it again to see if it becomes visible?
Jun 2016Re: missing link??Reply from Colin Robinson in General.Thanks Paul. I know that storms like Desmond cause a huge amount of anguish but they can have their upside for us mineral collectors.
Jun 2016missing link??Posted by Colin Robinson in General.The link to the recent article about Storm Desmond/Wythburn Mine doesn't work...at least not on my computer. Everything else is working fine.
Jun 2016Re: Alstonite from CaliforniaReply from Colin Robinson in General.Yep, Brownley Hill. Seen plenty of them over the years and you've got some nice specimens of a rare mineral there.
Jan 2016Re: Unusual agate geode Cumbria UK?Reply from Colin Robinson in General.alex kitondo Wrote:
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> i have collected some its nice they rage from
> bowel shaped,shaped strand round,,and they vary
> from different color,pink,colorless andy smthing
> yellowidsh
but did you collect them in Cumbria?
Jan 2016Re: Black with ChrysocollaReply from Colin Robinson in Identity Help.The work by Dr. Stephen Moreton on the post-mining deposits at Tankardstown mine in Ireland has shown that 'a proportion of these coatings consists of a polymeric silica gel framework, and aggregates of monomeric or oligomeric silica bound by copper. Whilst not true copper silicates, it is ...
Jan 2016Re: eBay BSReply from Colin Robinson in General.Some fantastic bargains to be had on ebay. You just have to know what to look for, where to find it and who to deal with. It's no better or worse than any other marketplace.
Jan 2016'Devils Hole Mine' SwaledaleReply from Colin Robinson in General.-- moved topic --
Jan 2016'Devils Hole Mine' SwaledalePosted by Colin Robinson in Improving Mindat.org.Please note that this mine is actually called Devis Hole, not Devils Hole. See numerous references including Dunham. Raistrick and many more.
I also note that whoever added the location has done many more for North Yorkshire and there is never any reference as to how the identification of the ...
Dec 2015Re: Which club??Reply from Colin Robinson in General.It's a bit more complicated than that. You also need to know what to look for and how to look for it. Mineral specimens rarely come out of the ground looking like they do in the photos. It's a long and slow learning curve and much more difficult on your own.
Dec 2015Re: Which club??Reply from Colin Robinson in General.Michael, if you're an absolute beginner then join a club and you'll get the benefit of the experience of others. I started collecting over 50 years ago when all you had to do was buy a map and look for 'old mine'. Initially we got on our push bikes but once we could drive we roamed far and wide. I ...
Dec 2015Re: Which club??Reply from Colin Robinson in General.Wayne Corwin Wrote:
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> You won't get into many places to collect in the
> UK with out a club. ;-)
Whoever told you that was talking out of their backside!
Nov 2015Re: Blain Gwinas Mines, DolgellauReply from Colin Robinson in Improving Mindat.org.Good grief, a Sam Weller label with mistakes on it!!
Whatever next?
Nov 2015Re: Help I bought this and both the seller and I think something is in it but have no I Dea what it is or how to start cutting itReply from Colin Robinson in Identity Help.I'm curious, why did you buy something if you don't know what it is?
Oct 2015Re: DerbyReply from Colin Robinson in Field Collecting.As a starter I'd recommend you join a group such as the Peak Lapidary and Mineral society or the Russell Society. They will give you plenty of local info and have access to several working quarries which are otherwise out of bounds to collectors. A visit to the Bakewell Rock Exchange on the weekend ...
Aug 2015Re: Unknown clear matrix with pale yellow crystalsReply from Colin Robinson in Identity Help.The shop would be Moorland Minerals and they sold/sell predominantly British material although they also have worldwide material for the more 'touristy' end of the market.
Not sure if they ever check out mindat so probably won't be able to give you answer. However, as others say, sharp photos ...
Aug 2015Re: Accessibility to sites for those of limited mobility.Reply from Colin Robinson in Field Collecting.In the U.K. virtually all sites are on private land and collecting will require the specific permission of the land and/or mineral rights owner. Putting any details about accessibility on a public forum is guaranteed to get the interest and probably also bring down the wrath of the site owners. It ...
Jul 2015Re: Question about site namesReply from Colin Robinson in General.Life is full of inconsistencies. Why waste what precious time you have worrying about them. As a retired printer/print lecturer I now wonder why I wasted years studiously following Hart's rules when, at the end of the day, all that really matters is that we understand each other. If you're going to ...
Jul 2015Re: Thoughts - Mindat on PaperReply from Colin Robinson in General.Most computer and internet images are far too poor quality to print out using conventional lithography. They might look good on screen but that's as far as it goes so if you want 'proper' printing you need to think big.
The commonly accepted standard in industry is 300 pixels per inch for high ...
Jun 2015Re: Self-collected?Reply from Colin Robinson in General.Most of the so-called rules of grammar are not actually rules at all but mere stylistic preferences. English has a huge number of variations so to say something is wrong merely because you don't like it is arrogant as well as pedantic.The rest of the world seems to have no problem understanding ...
Dec 2015Re: Ankerite?Reply from Colin Robinson in Improving Mindat.org.Before anyone starts randomly changing ankerite to ferro-dolomite could I give you a quote from K.C. Dunham's The Geology of the Northern Pennine Orefield:
''the present investigation has shown that most of the minerals formerly classified as dolomites are in reality ankerites, belonging to the ...
Mar 2015Banana slidePosted by Colin Robinson in Improving Mindat.org.re Photo ID: 306169
Mr. Lavinsky describes this calcite specimen as being from the banana slide area of Haile Moor mine. The banana slide was at Beckermet mine and not Haile Moor.
Mar 2015Re: Description of Smallcleugh Mine, Nenthead.Reply from Colin Robinson in Improving Mindat.org.The man who never made a mistake is the man who never lived.
Feb 2015Surrender GroundPosted by Colin Robinson in Improving Mindat.org.Please note that the entry for Surrender Ground is really the same as Surrender mine. Surrender ground is a fairly large area which has numerous shafts and workings which are collectively known as Surrender Mine. All the major shafts are named and should, ideally be referenced individually. I would ...
Feb 2015Re: Fluorite from Florence mine, CumbriaReply from Colin Robinson in Improving Mindat.org.Agreed, most definitely not from Florence. The colour and the twinning are a dead give-away I would also take issue with the description of Rob Lavinsky's hematite (photo 182664) as being an old time piece from the late 1800s/early 1900s. The no. 1 shaft wasn't actually sunk until 1915!
