When volcanic eruptions occur andlava is released onto the earth’s surface, burgeoningconstruction industry and thebasalts of the Deccan Traps are ideal forthe purpose. This is why there are somany quarries around virtually everycity or large town in the state and, ofcourse, these quarries are a majorsource of specimen minerals. Surprisingly,however, some of the most importantmineral finds have been made during the digging of wells, rat..

Fasi Makki with a freshly mined specimeninside the huge pocket in the well inMomin Akhada, India. S. Makki photo.　　Maharashtra state in India has beenknown since the 1970’s as a prolificsource of specimens containing apophyllite-(KF), a range of zeolite group minerals and several other associatedspecies. Everyone knows that “Indian zeolites”(using the term loosely here, to includeapophyllite and other non-zeolitespecies) are a..

Miner with huge quartz crystals inside the pocket. Saw Naung U photo.Huge quartz, feldspar, mica and topaz crystals (at the center) in the pocket. Saw Naung U photo.Quartz　　Quartz is one of the most importantmineral species, occurring in all biggerpockets in Sakangyi. Its habit is classicallyprismatic, usually with medium-lustrousor very lustrous crystal faces,sometimes preferentially frosted. Thevast majority of the crystals are white orcolorl..

Deep blue beryl (var. aquamarine) crystal from Sakangyi, 10 cm high. N. Luppescu collelction and photo.Cassiterite　　Cassiterite rarely forms well developedcrystals, but some of these reach 5cm. They are typically black withmedium metallic luster.Feldspar group　　Minerals of the feldspar group arethe most common and constitute most ofthe volume of the pegmatite bodies. All pockets contain these crystals, and theycover most of the pocket walls.T..

Huge quartz crystals in the big pocket in Sakangyi mine, Myanmar.　　The Mogok region in Myanmar hasbeen one of the world‘s most famous andimportant gem and mineral-producingareas for centuries. The mines producingrubies and spinels from marblesare especially well known to collectors.Gem topaz from the Sakangyi mine, Myanmar;5.1 cm high. M. Zinn collection.　　The Sakangyi mines, operating in pegmatites,are much less familiar: apartfrom a very f..

Superb specimen of fluorite with galena on white quartz from the Rat Tail Pocket, size 17 cm. UKMV specimen. J. Fisher photo.　　During the summer of 2002 webegan another crosscut on the east sideof the adit to the north of the BlackSheep Pocket. This drift, known asthe “East Crosscut”, intersectedthenorthern edge of the Black Sheep zone offlats. A few good specimens were foundin this crosscut, but generally the qualitydid not justify..

Dodgy Bugger Pocket, June 2006, about 2 meters across. J. Fisher photo.　　The finds of the first year far surpassedexpectations of everyone involved.　　What was initially expected to bea short collecting adventure quickly becamea full-scale business of mining andselling specimens. Although productionhas varied a good bit from year to yearduring this time, it has been enough tokeep us coming back each year for more.　　The Dodgy Bugger “potato..

Emerald green fluorite from the West Crosscut, photographed in artificial light. 10 cm wide. UKMV specimen. J. Fisher photo.　　During the late 1970’s a cavity containingsome exceptional bright greenfluorite was discovered near the surfacedirectly below the previously cut benchlevel on the Greenbank vein. Over thenext 18 months of only weekend work, anadit was driven northward for a distanceof about 20 meters in search of morefluorite at th..

Western Rogerley Quarry. Sutcliff vein workings marked in yellow. J. Gajowniczek photo.Cal Graeber (left) and Jesse Fisher (author) washing clay from one of the pockets. J. Gajowniczek photo.Byron(+) trimming specimens at the mine. Only a miner would sit on a diamond chainsaw to get the best angle for cutting! J. Fisher photo.Collecting in Black Sheep Pocket in the 2010. J. Gajowniczek photo.Fluorite crystals in situ in the Black Sheep Pocket. R...

　　The Northern Pennine Orefield hasbeen for many centuries an importantsource of lead, industrial fluorite, and, toa lesser extent, zinc, iron, and bariumores. The earliest records of mining datefrom the 12th century, with the high pointof lead mining occurring in the 18th and19th centuries, followed by a rise influorspar production during the late 19ththrough late 20th centuries. Mineral specimenshave long been a byproduct ofthese mining opera..