Boracite

Unknown Owner

Help improve this recordNo owner is registered for this specimen yet. If it's yours or you know more about it, you can add the owner, provenance, publications and other details.

I am always drawn to Boracite, having once been fortunate enough to be able to experience the 1 km descent underground and 'road' trip around the grid-like series of tunnels which extend out beneath the North Sea in Boulby mine. The Boracite, a magnesium chloro-borate, is a plague to the mining company, rapidly blunting their cutting machines due to its significant hardness (Moh's scale 7 to 7.5) but can appear is several forms and colours. This small cabinet-sized piece from Martin Kershaw's Collection (no. 782) is quite attractive, like a gently branching coralline growth, with glistening pale blue-grey spherules of Boracite coating outwards into cavities. A little Salmon pink/orange material is probably Hilgardite, but the powdery white central core to the stalactites is not determined. A very fine, and good sized display of this rare borate species.