Witherite

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Mineral guide

Learn about Witherite

distinctive pseudo-hexagonal twin crystals, white-cream color, UV fluorescence, scarce, prized specimens from Settlingstones, Alston Moor.

Regional guide

Witherite from Settlingstones Mine, England

Settlingstones is the classic English locality for witherite in its most collectible form: dense, lustrous, translucent white to cream or pale tan barium carbonate, typically built from twinned pseudo-hexagonal orthorhombic crystals that make rounded mounds, plates, and sculptural cabinet pieces. The best specimens have a peculiar combination of glassy sparkle and softly satiny internal texture, with repeated stepped faces and horizontal striations catching the light across the crystal groups. For collectors, a fine Settlingstones witherite is not merely “an English witherite”; it is one of the defining specimens of the species.