Fluorite - Ladywash Mine, Derbyshire, GB
 
Transparent Fluorite crystals up to 1.7 cm on the edge almost completely cover a thin matrix of various ore minerals including Barite, Chalcopyrite and Sphalerite. The transparency allows good visibility of intergrown globular chalcopyrites, which are partly free-floating and on the other hand define clear phantoms on earlier growth zones.
The Ladywash mine above the village of Eyam in north Derbyshire produced excellent fluorite for many years, for which the contained sulfides are characteristic. This specimen is a beautifully representative specimen that fully captures the essence of the Ladywash mine.
Good specimens from the Ladywash Mine are rare, as underground collecting has been strictly prohibited since the 1970s due to the danger of collapse.