Minerals/Gems in the Mountains

[callum]

Has anyone come across any interesting minerals in the hills on their travels?
I've been thinking about exploring the corries of Beinn a Bhuird sometime soon in search of some elusive Cairngorm Quartz....

[Caberfeidh]

I've heard from a stalker that Ben a Bhuird is a popular place for hunting them (cairngorm stones). I found some long thin crystals of dark smokey cairngorm stone up near Corrie Sputan Dearg of Ben MacDuibh. There are rumours of gold in various burns in the highlands, though I believe it is in such low quantities that it is not profitable to search seriously for it. In Victorian times there was quite an industry in the cairngorms, finding the smokey quartz which was very trendy then. I heard that a man found a crystal weighing sixty pounds, and presented it to Queen Victoria, who granted him sixty pounds sterling in return, surely a magnificent sum in those days! Happy hunting!

[callum]

Thanks for the info. I believe most of the quartz in the Cairngorms is found within the veins of newer granite intruded into older granite at some point. I've read that Beinn a Bhuird is one of the best examples of this occurring.

Other than that the Lowther Hills and Wanlockhead are one of the best places in the world for minerals even having some named after the area. Even the World Gold Panning Championships are (or were?) held there! I've seen some sapphire crystals up to about 2cm long on Mull too. Very impressive.

[BVCSK]

A very interesting topic. My son has a very keen interest in rocks, minerals and fossils and we were looking for some on our travels up An Socach onSaturday but with no luck. He did fair better in July when we were in Austria as he found several Garnetts at the foot of a glacier including one the size of a golf ball!!
Any info on where to see interesting rock formations, crystals etc would be gratfully received.

[callum]

It's very difficult to recommend one particular area as Scotland has such varied geology and contains virtually every geological phenomenon in some form or another! Have anything particular in mind ie a certain fossil, type of rock etc?

[LeithySuburbs]

Don't bother looking these days but was keen on this sort of thing as a child/teenager. Found lots of iron pyrite (fools gold) on Tarmachan ridge and some really cool white and black crystals on Ben Vorlich.

[mountain coward]

Found lots and lots of garnets in the Fannaichs - keep meaning to make the few I picked out of the scree and took with me into jewellery...

[kinley]

I was told by someone who knows his stuff that I was too busy watching the birdie to spot the garnet here:



Must go back

[Malmilne]

Hi Callum, I know your post is from 2010 but I've just read Crystal Mountains by Roy Starkey and found it a fascinating read. I was just wondering how you got on with your gem hunting at Beinn a' Bhuird as I now want to try myself this summer, that's if you can remember 😆

[Senja]

A couple of good cairngorms - both stolen during a flat party while I was at an MBA meeting, One from Arran, the other Ben Avon.
A large clear quartz crystal on Mount Brandon, Kerry which became a wedding present to a couple who became engaged on that hill.