ALSTONITE on Baryte - Brownley Hill Mine, England, UK

ALSTONITE on Baryte

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Alstonite, a barium calcium carbonate, was originally described in the 1830s based on material from two localities: Brownley Hill mine, Cumbria and Fallowfield mine, Northumberland. Originally it was given the name Bromlite, supposedly after the site of its first discovery, but they got confused as the mine was not called Bromley Hill, but Brownley Hill. To resolve things it was later renamed Alstonite, after the nearest large settlement. The source of the mineral within Brownley Hill mine got forgotten until it was rediscovered by mineral collectors and mine explorers during the 1980s and this is likely when this specimen was extracted. It comes from the Greenbank Collection with their label, and their number (PG.233) affixed to the specimen. The small miniature specimen comprises the typical white bladed Baryte matrix with small platy cream coloured Witherite crystals upon which several nicely formed pyramidal Alstonite crystal sit. The largest Alstonite crystal, at 9.5 mm in length, is a classic doubly-terminated crystal - a bipyramid.