By beginning this description with not only an exclamation of Wow!, but also Wowzer!, it will come as no surprise that this Lanarkite from the Susanna mine at Leadhills, South Lanarkshire, Scotland rather takes my fancy! Lanarkite is a rare lead sulphate, first discovered at Susanna mine and named for the southern Scottish county, Lanarkshire. It is only in more recent time the county has become South Lanarkshire. As we have pointed out many time before, the continuation of the orefield to the next-door village of Wanlockhead crosses the county boundary, making that part of the orefield in Dumfriesshire , now renamed Dumfries and Galloway since 1975. The Lanarkite form a superb cluster of characteristic, thick-set acicular crystals of creamy white, the majority aligned in sub-parallel growth with just the odd crystal at ninety degrees. The maximum height of this miniature is 3 cm, yet it is composed entirely of Lanarkite crystals, making it a rich well developed example of this most sought after species.
