WOLFRAMITE - Wheal Gorland, Cornwall

Wheal Gorland, St. Day, Cornwall

Crystals of wolframite in quartz.  Wolfram is the primary ore of tungsten.

For mineral collectors, Wheal Gorland is probably the most famous of all the Cornish mines, producing over 60 different mineral species.  Most of the minerals found have been collected from the mine dumps which are now a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

This specimen is from an old collection. According to the label it was collected in 1990 from a nearby field where material from the mine dumps had been spread.