Turquoise & Varlamoffite - Gunheath CCP Cornwall

Gunheath China Clay Pit,
Stenalees,
St. Austell, Cornwall,
England, UK

S. Cab : 73 x 57 x 28mm                           110gms

This is one that I collected in April 1993, along with Maurice Grigg, the well known Cornish collector and old Pit Captain to this well known locality.

Massive Turquoise with some micro crystals and earthy pale mustard yellow Varlamoffite over a quartz matrix.
Whilst the Turquoise area was collected heavily during the1990's, material from the pit quickly became depleted and no more has been found since then.
Turquoise is very rarely found in the UK and this was a notable deposit at the time.

Varlamoffite : (Sn,Fe)(O,OH)2,           Turquoise : Cu(Al,Fe3+)6(PO4)4(OH)8·4H2O,