Detailed information
Species
Boracite, Hilgardite
Dimensions
103 x 51 x 38
mm
Locality
Boulby Mine Loftus, North Yorkshire England
Condition
No recorded repairs
A magnificent small cabinet specimen of crystallised Boracite from Boulby mine at Loftus in North Yorkshire, England. This location is regarded as having produced some of the best Boracite specimens in the world. Pseudo-cubic crystals of Boracite are largely gemmy pastel sky blue, measuring to 2 mm. These form rich, crystallised ridges which cover large areas of the specimen and as inter-grown spheres to 0.6 cm diameter. Dotted here and there are orange, flaky micro-crystals of Hilgardite, covering and pervading a matrix of tan coloured Boracite. It’s a brilliant sparkling example of this magnesium borate from the UK’s deepest operating mine at 1,400 m (4,600 ft) which extends out beneath the North Sea.