BARYTOCALCITE

Crystal Classics Verified independent store

→

Barytocalcite, a double carbonate of barium and calcium, was discovered in the Alston Moor area of Cumbria, England in the 1830s at Blagill mine. The crystals are quite distinctive monoclinic prisms with sloping terminations. In the 1970s much larger, but very different, bladed Barytocalcite crystals were discovered in the old workings at Nentsberry Haggs mine. This specimen, from that mine comes from a well-known German collection. Large miniature in size, it displays fan-like sprays of very large (over 2 cm in length) Barytocalcite crystals. The crystals are tan coloured internally but coated in white, which is possibly natural alteration to Baryte. Unusually, underneath the Barytocalcite is a finely crystallized layer of Calcite. A few of the Barytocalcite crystals have lost their tips, but overall this is a fine example of this unusual form of Barytocalcite crystals known only from Nentberry Haggs mine. Show more