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FLORENCE AND ULLCOATS
Originally operated independently. Florence
was the name given to the second shaft sunk at Ullbank mine and the present
mine is centred round Florence No.2 shaft, sunk in 1945.
and a recently driven drift.
At Ullcoats the first shaft was sunk in
1900 followed by another six, three of which though were abandoned during
sinking because of difficulties with the glacial deposits immediately
above the orebody. In 1917 the mine was taken over by the Millom and Askam
Company who owned the nearby Ullbank/Florence mines. From then it was
operated as a single complex and connected underground to Florence in
the 1950's. It proved to be a long and lonely work for the small number
of men driving the connecting drift and this part of the mine became known
as 'lonely hearts'.
Both mines were closed in 1968 when the company went into liquidation
following nationalisation of the steel industry. In 1969 the lease was
taken by the Beckermet mine which after nationalisation became part of
the British Steel Corporation.
A drift was put through in 1970 and the mines worked as a single unit
until their closure in 1980. Egremont Mining Company, formed primarily
from ex. employees took over and has operated the mines until 2006. The
mines are famous for the superb sea-blue fluorite on creamy coloured dolomite
although examples of green and purple fluorite are also found. Clear cubes
coloured to varying degrees of brown by hematite inclusions form attractive
specimens usually associated with dolomite and barite. 'Kidney-ore' often
in large specimens was found and groups of specularite and quartz (clear
and smokey) provide particularly aesthetic pieces. Red 'Eisenkeisel' quartz
on kidney-ore occurs and the barite from Florence is usually white to
pink and of a platy habit. In the early 1990's an unusual find of white
spheroidal calcite on specularite was found. More
pictures of Florence mine- summer 2003
BECKERMET MINE
The mine was sunk to exploit the huge body
of ore south of Florence with the first shaft sunk in 1903. The ore was
at greater depth than in the north of the area, No.2 shaft ( also called
Winscales or Mildred) reaching a depth of 1247ft. A further body of ore
was found to the east where the company sunk Haile Moor shaft. Most of
the minerals found at Florence were found here and along the Banana Slide
fault many attractive groups of hematite stained calcite were collected.
Ralph Sutcliffe shot some pictures of the cavity soon after the find in
about 1971 and has kindly lent them Small pyrite crystals are reported
from here too. Haile Moor produced
barite specimens, similar to those at Florence, calcite and aragonite.
View 'Banana slide' pictures
GILLFOOT PARK (GILLFOOT)
In all six pits were sunk on this property, the first ore raised from
No.1 pit being in 1879 by the Gillfoot Park Mining Company who worked
the mine until it was taken over by the Wyndham Mining Company in 1901.
Gillfoot Park was the source of many good calcite groups often showing
twinning in the form of 'butterfly' twins. Good kidney-ore.
GUTTERBY PIT
It is mentioned that three pits were working in 1834 in the Gutterby area.
Finally abandoned in 1890 and became part of the Sir John Walsh pit workings.
Characteristic white-pink platy barite from here.
BIGRIGG (LANGHORN)
Ore has been worked in the Bigrigg area since 1635 and in later years
the mine included Croft, Wyndham (not to be confused with Wyndham mine
at Egremont) and Lady pit. Fluorite is reported from 'Langhorn' mine as
pale yellow cubes.
Specimens from Bigrigg include glass clear scalenohedral calcite and 'Butterfly'
twins often with inclusions of manganese minerals. Hausmannite, braunite,
pyrolusite and rhodocrosite occur, lumps of 'manganese' ore being found
several feet across, sufficient to warrant mining in the 1870's.
Good examples of Kidney-ore
PALLAFLAT
No.1 shaft was working by 1884 after the Pallaflat Mining Co. was formed
in 1874. Two other pits were added before closure of the mine in 1914.
Well known for its exceptional calcite groups of clear, transparent nail-head
and scalenohedral crystals with some 'Butterfly' twins. Occasional pieces
are coloured red or brown on one side due to a dusting of hematite. Also
combinations of transparent pastel green barite crystals with calcite.
The dumps were worked in the 1980's by collectors when a substantial number
of specimens were recovered
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CROWGARTH
Mining started here as early as 1753 working
north of the main Cleator Moor road. In 1825 Crowgarth pit was then sunk
south of the road with York pit, St. John's pit and No.4 pit subsequently
sunk between 1870 and 1882. Mining continued until the economic depression
of the 1920's and caused a great deal of surface settlement in Cleator
moor as the mine followed the shallow ore-body upwards.
Crowgarth is known for its fine clear, blue and yellow barite specimens
some with hematite inclusions. Also quartz with specularite and small
chalcopyrite crystals. York Pit produced pencil-ore of such good quality
that it was sold to the German jewellery trade and dolomite pseudomorphs
after Kidney-ore are also reported.
GOOSEGREEN
The Parkside Mining Company began mining
here in 1855. Ownership changed in 1875 to the Goose Green Iron Ore Company,
who worked it until 1892. Known for green and brown barite crystals often
with hematite inclusions, specular hematite and calcite.
DALMELLINGTON (Holbeck).
Famous for large groups of flat topped and spear shaped barite crystals
of lustrous pale yellow to chocolate-brown colour.
'Dalmellington' mine, the location given on old-time specimen labels can
only be geographically identified by inference. There are no returns for
a mine of this name but The Dalmellington Iron Company, a Scottish company
opened the Holbeck Mine in 1869 and worked it until 1900 when it closed.
This included extracting ore from the Dalmellington fault. One shaft (No.7)
was then transferred to the Parkside Company operating Parkside mine nearby.
PARKSIDE
Started in 1855 by the Parkside Mining Company. It soon becoming a very
successful mine with, for example, over 100,000 tonnes of ore being raised
in 1873 from a huge flat deposit in the 1st limestone. However by the
mid 1870's output was declining rapidly and when the royalty was renewed
in 1875 the property to the east of the road was split between the Goosegreen
Co. and the New Parkside Co.
In 1877 the company opened up ore in the 4th limestone sinking a new shaft
(No.19) and in 1894 took over the Crossgill mine which had worked the
same shallow body of ore and the Dalmellington No.7 pit. By 1913 Crossgill
mine was the only part left working and all were closed by 1925. The Parkside
Company working a number of mines in West Cumbria and numbered their pits
chronological with no reference to a specific mine so although Pit No.19
was at Parkside, this does not imply that there was that number of pits
at Parkside, for example Pits Nos.11 & 14 were at Salter and Pit No.20
was at the Winder mines in the Windergill valley.
Exceptional barite specimens were found here with crystals ranging from
a clear pale yellow colour to a rich chocolate brown often long and slender
on a characteristic open dolomite matrix. Calcite crystals, dolomite,
hematite and quartz are also reported, as were pseudomorphs of hematite
after scalenohedral calcite.
MOWBRAY
Started in 1864, a total of four pits were sunk and eventually the old
Dyke Nook mine was included in the workings. After 1903 it was owned by
Cammell Laird & Co who worked the nearby Frizington Park mine and
No.3 & 4 pits were extended to work in that royalty. Final abandonment
came in 1921.
Well known for barite specimens of many different hues from colourless,
pale yellow and yellowish-green to brown, greenish-blue and sky-blue.
Any specimens of a blue colouration are likely to have altered in daylight
from yellow. Fluorite, hematite and dolomite are reported from here whilst
marcasite crystals were collected from the dumps.
KNOCKMURTON & KELTON FELL
These mines are situated on the edge of the Lake District National park,
the numerous veins here occurring in Skiddaw slate rather than limestone.
Knockmurton was started in the 1850's with output increasing following
the opening of a rail connection to the main network. The first shaft
at Kelton was sunk in 1873 after which substantial tonnages were mined
from these relatively remote mines, with a maximum tonnage of 61,000 tonnes
in both 1882 and 1883. Substantial mining ended in 1913 with a small re-working
attempted in 1920. The veins pinched out in depth.
Substantial amounts of kidney ore occurred in lough holes often with small
quartz crystals.
ESKETT, ROWRAH AND STOCKHOWHALL QUARRIES
Characteristic aragonite specimens occur in the quarries consisting of
clear, white to very pale yellow crystal sprays up to 2 or 3 inches across
on a iron rich limestone.
The mines of Furness were not noted for
mineral specimens compared to the prolific output from the mines of West
Cumbria. However occasional specimen from two of the mines do come on
the market.
HODBARROW
The largest mine in terms of iron ore output in Cumbria with an interesting
history well documented in 'Cumberland Iron' by A. Harris; D. Bradford
Barton Ltd. (1970). Kidney ore was not uncommon and specimens of hematite
pseudomorphing fluorite are known from here
STANK
The first shaft was sunk in 1871, the mine eventually proving to be quite
a substantial undertaking with 2 1/2 million tonnes of iron ore being
produced up to 1885. In all some nine pits were sunk, the pumping machinery
including a Cornish beam engine originally from Wheal Mary Ann near Menheniot,
Cornwall. The mine finally closed in 1901
Mineralogically it produced groups of bright scalenohedral calcite coloured
shades of red, yellow and brown and often with hematite inclusions. Pseudomorphs
of hematite after fluorite and scalenohedral calcite occur with rounded
outlines to the original crystals.
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flat
deposits were formed where a particular limestone strata was replaced
and 'sops' was the name given to large karstic dissolution features subsequently
filled with iron-ore. Cavities or 'loughs' were not uncommon in the flats,
usually lined with kidney-ore and occasional crystals of specularite,
calcite, barite, quartz, dolomite or fluorite. Cavities where less common
in the softer ores of the Furness area.