Cassiterite - Dolcoath Mine, England, UK

Cassiterite

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Dolcoath was known as the Queen of Cornish Mines because of its size and wealth, being one of the largest mines in Cornwall by the end of the 1700's. First a copper mine, as its depth increased the copper ore began to peter out and abandonment of the mine loomed. But then tin ore was encountered and a whole new era of mining commenced. This great miniature, richly encrusted in tiny Cassiterite crystals covering and impregnating a vein of opaque milky Quartz, is typical of the rich tin ore encountered in Dolcoath, a mine on the eastern outskirts of Camborne. The Cassiterite crystals are mainly crude but are profuse and many well developed crystals can be seen, often giving a characteristic glint of golden-sherry along the black crystal edges.