Detailed information
Species
Childrenite, Pyrite, Chalcopyrite
Dimensions
33 x 66 x 30
mm
Weight
74 g
Locality
George and Charlotte Mine Tavistock Hamlets Devon, England
Condition
No recorded repairs
A rather lovely miniature of beautifully crystallised, gemmy Childrenite from George and Charlotte mine at Tavistock Hamlets in west Devon. The emphasis is on 'west' as the mine is very close to the county boundary with Cornwall. Childrenite is a rare iron-manganese-aluminium phosphate and is named for John George Children, former keeper of minerals at the British Museum of Natural History. Excellent orange-clove Childrenite crystals of about 1 mm completely line a shallow 3 x 1 cm vug in a Quartz veinstone rich in disseminated iron, copper and lead sulphides.