Baryte (stalactitic section)

A charming section of a Baryte stalactite from Portway mine which lay between Castleton and Peak Forest in Derbyshire.  Portway exploited a section of Dirtlow Rake, a mineralised lode extending over several kilometres to the south of the town of Castleton.  This particular mine lay about midway along on Dirtlow Rake.  This section, 4.5 cm diameter and up to 2 cm thick, is built of concentric depositions of Baryte in shades of cream, light lemon, tan, buff and pale orange.  It was collected by a well know Derbyshire based collector in June 1983.  There is a good account of this locality in Roy Starkey’s excellent book, Minerals of the English Midlands, copies of which are available from us here at Crystal Classics.