The Photos show a good sized specimen of pitchblende along with some pyrite that I recently dug from a small remaining area of mine dump. It is hideously hot!!

I am interested in buying whole collections or single specimens to add to my collection.

Please contact me at northherodsfootmine@yahoo.co.uk

Here is an 19th century tetrahedrite coated with chalcopyrite originally bought or donated to the  American Museum of Natural History now back home where it was first collected. Maybe a Richard Talling specimen?

Sad news today Drakelands has ceased operations.

Hemerdon as it was before Wolf minerals started a new operation is a stock works containing wolfram and cassiterite.

As with any stock works values vary hugely over the area of the workings.

The wolfram from Hemerdon is iron rich Ferberite  which is the the iron endmember  of the manganese – iron wolframite solid solution series. It can be a headache to process with low recovery rates.

Lets hope funding can be found to keep the venture afloat.

Answer.  Cut a large killas block with a 10 inch diamond disc cutter.

Its advisable to put the washing away before commencing the cut!  Specimen now soaking in acid.

Only the top 10 cms contained bournonite  the rest was galena and killas.

My back is recovering from dragging this lunker out.

A 50kg mass of vuggy quartz with some fine cog wheal bournonite.

Some serious cutting will be necessary.