Dolomite with Calcite

The present-day limestone quarry at Abbeytown has now moved away from the site of the old mine where mineralised pockets were occasionally encountered.  The Abbeytown locality is about 1 km north west of the small country town of Ballysadare in County Sligo, Ireland.  This is an old-time specimen of well crystallised creamy Dolomite with a single dog-tooth Calcite crystal embedded towards one side.  The Dolomite forms curved rhombic crystals to 1.2 cm on edge, with sharp prism edges and a pearly lustre.  The scalenohedral Calcite measures 2.3 cm long and is slightly yellow compared to the Dolomite.  Often such specimens date from when the present quarry passed through the old mine workings but, based on the exceptionally old looking handwritten label, this would infer this specimen is from the original mine.