Detailed information
Species
Baryte
Dimensions
100 x 65 x 65
mm
Locality
Hilton Mine Scordale, Cumbria England
Condition
No recorded repairs
A particularly well formed cabinet specimen of Baryte from Hilton mine, Scordale in Cumbria, England. Some 4 km north east of the village of Hilton, the nearest well known town is Appleby, to the south east of Penrith. For those who have not visited Hilton mine, it is a long walk and climb from where you park your car and an even longer walk back when tired and carrying a rucksack full of specimens! Having trekked 3 to 4 miles with a lot of Baryte on your back, the sight of the car is very welcome! These excellent, thickly bladed crystals of Baryte form an open divergent cluster; the tallest blades measuring between about 7 to 9 cm tall. The crystals are colourless to milky white; vary from transparent to opaque. They display a bright glassy lustre on their broad prism faces and terminations, and a matt, chalky lustre on their side faces and the apex of the terminations. It has always been very difficult to collect intact specimens of Baryte from Hilton mine and in our opinion this specimen is 95% complete. It’s a superb example which will look fabulous when displayed.
