The Smallcleugh Mine appears to have been established around 1770, although significant development did not begin until later in the eighteenth century. Mining eventually extended along several mineralized veins and into stratabound replacement bodies known as flats, with the Handsome Mea and Smallcleugh veins associated with some of the earliest workings, including deposits reportedly discovered in 1776. The operation expanded more substantially after about 1787 and continued developing additional veins and flats until mining ceased in the early twentieth century; a further attempt to identify remaining ore reserves was made unsuccessfully in 1963. Among the mine's better-known historical episodes was a Masonic Lodge dinner held underground in the Ballroom Flats in 1901, while recreational exploration by amateur mine explorers appears to have begun by the late 1960s. Specimens of sphalerite, galena, calcite, and ankerite are desired by collectors.
This specimen is a matrix of classic Smallcleugh sphalerite. Formerly of the Scalisi collection, the complex and isolated crystal adorning this matrix present fine quality. A must have for sphalerite or classic European collectors!
Thank you so much for viewing! Please message for any further information
(5.1 × 3.0 × 1.5 in - 12.9 × 7.6 × 3.8 cm) 11.8oz / 336g
ORDERS SHIP MONDAYS
The Smallcleugh Mine appears to have been established around 1770, although significant development did not begin until later in the eighteenth century. Mining eventually extended along several mineralized veins and into stratabound replacement bodies known as flats, with the Handsome Mea and Smallcleugh veins associated with some of the earliest workings, including deposits reportedly discovered in 1776. The operation expanded more substantially after about 1787 and continued developing additional veins and flats until mining ceased in the early twentieth century; a further attempt to identify remaining ore reserves was made unsuccessfully in 1963. Among the mine's better-known historical episodes was a Masonic Lodge dinner held underground in the Ballroom Flats in 1901, while recreational exploration by amateur mine explorers appears to have begun by the late 1960s. Specimens of sphalerite, galena, calcite, and ankerite are desired by collectors.
This specimen is a matrix of classic Smallcleugh sphalerite. Formerly of the Scalisi collection, the complex and isolated crystal adorning this matrix present fine quality. A must have for sphalerite or classic European collectors!
Thank you so much for viewing! Please message for any further information
(5.1 × 3.0 × 1.5 in - 12.9 × 7.6 × 3.8 cm) 11.8oz / 336g
ORDERS SHIP MONDAYS
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