Tuesday Update – Czechia

THIS week we will focus on minerals from Czechia, or the country many of you will remember as the Czech Republic, or even earlier as the western half of Czechoslovakia.

As a country, it must be one of the most important for mineral species diversity compared with land area, with 1,455 different species recorded and 160 Type Localities listed.

Most of these minerals are linked in some way to mining, which has a long and fascinating history associated with it. The famous mining towns which include Příbram, Jáchymov and Horní Slavkov amongst many others, can often trace their history back to Celtic times and the search for silver ores. However, the ore deposits also contain lead and zinc and in some cases tin and uranium too, meaning that as one ore diminished often another took its place resulting in a resurgence in mining.

Most of the mines are concentrated in the western part of the country in the region known as Bohemia, and so this diversity is even more concentrated than one might initially expect. The specimens offered today show this remarkable range, but can only ever be a snapshot. However, our website lists many hundreds of Czech specimens, so make sure to look them all out.

On Friday we will be adding even more to our online store, so make sure to join us then. 

Please note: Today's featured specimens are all situated at our UK showroom.