Classic blue bladed Baryte with Dolomite from the West Cumbrian iron mining district. Labelled with an old typed label as Skye House M[ine], Bigrigg, Egremont, this is actually Syke House mine near Pallaflat, Bigrigg. This is an extremely rare specimen from this precise mine, which closed in 1905. It seems entirely plausible that the affixed typed label dates to around 1905, possibly even the late 1800s when Baryte specimens were being recovered from many of the iron mines in that region. The Baryte is a nice pale blue-grey colour with occasional reddish iron (Hematite) staining, and the individual prismatic crystals are typically around 5 cm in length, rising up from a crystallized Dolomite base and interlocking with each other. An unusual locality specimen.
