mining – Page 2 – Deposits Earth Science Archive

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Book review: Lake District: Landscape and Geology, by Ian Francis, Stuart Holmes and Bruce Yardley

28/02/2022

I recently reviewed another of the guides in Crowood Press’s excellent “Landscape and Geology” guides, which was undoubtedly a great read. And this one is equally good, with great, full colour pictures, maps and diagrams, and easy to read text, with descriptions of interesting walks and what can be seen on them.That is, there are easy-to-understand explanations of how the rocks formed and how the geology affects the landscape, and there is also an n exploration of the long human story of the landscapes.

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Book review: Minerals of the English Midlands, by Roy E Starkey

07/02/2022

Goodness me! This is a massive work (432 pages) – but written with enthusiasm from the heart, with authoritative text, lovely photos throughout, fascinating anecdotes and history, with detailed geological descriptions of all the relevant counties. Now, I’m no expert on minerals, which fall well outside the scope of my interests. However, I cannot praise this book too much.

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Panning for gold at Baile an Or in Northeast Scotland

29/09/2021

Alister and Ian Cruickshanks (UK) During the year of 1818, a nugget of gold weighing around ten pennyweights was discovered in the river Helmsdale, in Northeast Scotland. The ﬁnd sparked national interest and the Scottish local newspapers were soon headlining the discovery. It was then in 1968 that Scotland ensured … Read More

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Fossil hunting in Oxfordshire, UK

18/08/2021

Mike Thorn (UK) If you ask someone to think of Oxford, they will not usually picture warm tropical beaches and azure coral seas. However, go back to the middle Jurassic and you would be hard pushed to find a dreaming spire or student on a bicycle anywhere. At that time, … Read More

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A mineralogical tour of Ireland (Part 4): Ulster

30/06/2021

Stephen Moreton (UK) Our journey around Ireland concludes in Ulster. This comprises Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK, and the counties of Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan, which are part of the Republic of Ireland. As geology is no respecter of politics, the national border is ignored here. I … Read More

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A mineralogical tour of Ireland (Part 3): Connaught

23/06/2021

Stephen Moreton (UK) In the ﬁrst two articles of this series, we looked at Leinster and Munster. Continuing in a clockwise fashion brings us to Connaught. Some of Ireland’s oldest rocks are to be found here, forming the Ox Mountains. The rugged and mountainous west is dominated by metamorphic rocks … Read More

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A mineralogical tour of Ireland (Part 2): Munster

16/06/2021

Stephen Moreton (UK) In the second part of our tour of Ireland, we head for Munster, which occupies the southwest corner of the island. Geologically, the rocks are mostly inland Carboniferous shales and limestones, with Devonian sandstones forming the coastal peninsulas. All host mineral localities of note. Starting in County … Read More

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Geojunkets: A geologist returns to Fairbanks, Alaska

12/06/2021

Jesse Garnett White (USA) “It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society” Jiddu Krishnamurti My Great Grandfather and his son both gave me some advice at a very young age. “Never trust anyone that won’t look you in the eye when they shake … Read More

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A mineralogical tour of Ireland (Part 1): Leinster

09/06/2021

Stephen Moreton (UK) The island of Ireland has much to offer the mineral collector, but is relatively unknown to most. This may in part be due to a lack of published information, although, for years, the troubles in the north also served to deter visitors for many years. This series … Read More

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Book review: Yorkshire Geology, by Paul Ensom

23/04/2021

Jon Trevelyan (UK) If Yorkshire really is ‘God’s Own County’, then clearly the Almighty is an enthusiastic geologist. Just how lucky is the Yorkshire man who, on the same day, can see some of the best and most varied geology in the world, set out in glorious coastal and mountain … Read More

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Fabulous Fluorite: Derbyshire Blue John

23/03/2021

Richard M Haw (UK) Blue John is a unique variety of blue-purple banded fluorite. Hydrocarbons or oils have been deposited on some of the crystal surfaces while the mineral was forming. These oil layers are partly responsible for giving the stone an alternate blue and white banding, best seen when … Read More

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Alluvial gold (Part 2): A geological model

20/02/2021

Philip Dunkerly (UK) In A geological model for the alluvial gold environment (Part 1), the first part of this article, I discussed how alluvial gold is found and suggested a geological model for alluvial gold deposits. (Readers are recommended to have another look at that part to remind them of … Read More

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Alluvial gold (Part 1): A geological model

13/02/2021

Philip Dunkerly (UK) Mankind almost certainly first found gold when a yellow, glint from the bottom of a stream bed attracted the attention of one of our ancestors in pre- historic Africa. Ever since, the allure of gold – its colour, improbable density, malleability and scarceness – meant it has … Read More

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Book review: Measures for Measure: Geology and the Industrial Revolution, by Mike Leeder

04/01/2021

I sat down to read this over Christmas and what a good read it turned out to be. The appropriate word is ‘eclectic’ – because Measures for Measure is written for all us with an interest in the industrial history of Great Britain, and its impact on the landscape, economy, social history and culture. It’s a great read as it dots about linking places and ideas together, with the link always being the geology.

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Book review: Marvelous Microfossils: Creators, Timekeepers, Architects, by Patrick De Wever, foreword by Hubert Reeves and translated by Alison Duncan

19/10/2020

This is a lovely book – a glorious mixture of a beautiful coffee-table book and an academic treatise of the highest quality. But why microfossils? What is it about them that can create such strong feelings?

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Tauern gold: The history of gold mining in the Central Alps

19/09/2020

Dr Robert Sturm (Austria) Exploitation of gold deposits in the Hohe Tauern, in the Central Alps of Austria, has a long history: occurrences of this noble metal were explored for the first time about 2,000 years ago. Since the fourteenth century, the search for gold has been conducted on an … Read More

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Milos: A must-visit island destination for the geo-traveller

03/08/2020

Ken Madrell (UK) Introduction Most visitors to the Cyclades islands will gravitate to the island of Santorini to see its stunning caldera and the magnificent sunsets from the northern town of Oia. The island is part of the Aegean volcanic arc formed by the subduction of the African plate under … Read More

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Cresson Mine: The untold stories

24/07/2020

Benjamin Hayden Elick and Steven Wade Veatch (USA) The Cresson mine (Fig. 1) – situated between Cripple Creek and Victor in Colorado – was established in 1894 (MacKell, 2003). No one is certain who started the mine, but records show that two brothers, insurance agents, J R and Eugene Harbeck from … Read More

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Book review: Logging the Chalk, by Rory N Mortimore

17/07/2020

I have stood several times in front of an (apparently) plain white, chalk cliff-face along with others, while Prof Mortimore discussed the implications of what we were seeing. And, every time, I left not just thinking but knowing this was the most fascinating piece of geology I had ever seen.

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Hell and high water: The digs of Dinosaur Cove

02/07/2020

Robyn Molan (Australia) In an article in the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Journal (Issue 6, 2008) I dubbed the period between 1984 and 1994 ‘a decade of dedication’, thanks to the persistence of an American-Australian team headed by palaeontologists Tom Rich and his wife, Pat Vickers-Rich. (Tom wrote an article … Read More

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Tunnelling for dinosaurs in the High Arctic

02/07/2020

Dr Thomas H Rich (Australia) I have no idea what made me look up at that moment. But, when I did, I saw a flash of light reminiscent of the sun glinting off the wings of a flock of birds abruptly and simultaneously changing direction. However, the light was not … Read More

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Book review: Lakeland Rocks, by Alan Smith

02/07/2020

There are many good guides the geology of the Lake District and this is no exception. However, this is first and foremost an illustrated guide to the region’s rocks and an introduction to the common rock types to be found, largely through the use of colour photographs.

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Pathway to the past: A miner’s photograph

29/05/2020

Steven Wade Veatch (USA) This photograph, taken around 1899, shows my ancestors posing at their modest frame home, where they lived one step away from Cripple Creek’s gold rush world of cardplayers, whisky drinkers, and midnight carousers. The scene depicts my great-grandfather (Robert Pickering Plews), my great-grandmother (Janet Plews), and … Read More

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The Golden Dinosaur from the depths of the London Mine: Mystery of Genevieve

04/02/2020

Steven Wade Veatch and Teresa L Stoiber (USA) The legend of “Genevieve”, a fossilised dinosaur not only made of stone — but also of gold — began on 3 July 1932. That was the day WK Jewett, owner of the London Mine near Alma in Colorado, stopped at the Antlers … Read More

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Book review: Coal Mining in the East Neuk, by John McManus

04/01/2019

As the author, John McManus, writes: “The East Neuk of Fife was blessed with a mineral resource that was relatively easy to access”. This resource was coal – the driver of the industrial revolution and, even before then, a crucial element to the area’s industrial development from medieval times (or even Roman times) to the late twentieth century.

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Colorado mountain memories

01/11/2018

Steven Wade Veatch (USA) While headed for the California Gold Rush of 1849, George Giggey (who was my great-great-grandfather) first made his way through the mountainous and untamed wilderness of what would later become Colorado. He was among a group of young men, who were determined to make a new … Read More

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Roman quarries in Austria and Germany: A short sight-seeing tour

05/06/2018

Dr Robert Sturm (Austria) This is the third of four articles on the quarries of the ancient world and later, and, in particular, the marble that was quarried there and the works of art made from it. The first is Mining in Ancient Greece and Rome and the second is … Read More

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Marble from the Isle of Paros in Ancient Greece: A tour of the ancient quarries

31/05/2018

Dr Robert Sturm (Austria) This is the second of four articles on the quarries of the ancient world and later, and, in particular, the marble that was quarried there and the artwork that was made from it. The first was Mining in Ancient Greece and Rome. Some introductory words In … Read More

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Wieliczka Salt Mine, Poland (Part 2)

22/05/2018

Khursheed Dinshaw (India) This the second of two articles on the Wieliczka Salt Mine in Poland. The first (Wieliczka Salt Mine of Poland (Part 1)) covered some of the highlights that can be seen there. This one covers some more of these features, but also deals with the geology of … Read More

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Wieliczka Salt Mine, Poland (Part 1)

17/05/2018

Khursheed Dinshaw (India) The Wieliczka Salt Mine of Poland was included in the first UNESCO World Heritage list in 1978. It is also on the Polish List of Historic Heritage and, when visiting, provides an interesting way to get to know how salt has been mined underground for almost nine … Read More