Riches of Cornwall...

[RivalRedwing]

Wasn't wolfram [tungsten] also once mined?

Yep, my earlier message was not complete, this should be, from 1998 so no Li mentioned


From: Pattrick & Polya (1993) Mineralization in the British Isles. Chapman Hall

 

[TiggerToo]

Wasn't wolfram [tungsten] also once mined?

yep... and given how the world is going, we may have to reopen the mines again (but that takes us into geopolitics, and I risk a stern ticking off... or has the wind changed on this matter here?)

 

[MisterBaxter]

Anything there on whether the jam or the cream goes on a scone first?

Just as an aside, does anyone remember this 'debate' being mentioned before the mid 1990s? I have a theory that it was invented around then, possibly as part of some kind of tourist advertising campaign.

 

[TiggerToo]

Just as an aside, does anyone remember this 'debate' being mentioned before the mid 1990s? I have a theory that it was invented around then, possibly as part of some kind of tourist advertising campaign.

A national myth. Lots of them about on supposedly culinary debates.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

If I remember correctly the proposal for extracting the lithium was by aqueous injection into the deep rock as it was found from the geothermal boreholes that had been made.

 

[Stork_III]

If I remember correctly the proposal for extracting the lithium was by aqueous injection into the deep rock as it was found from the geothermal boreholes that had been made.

There was a proposal for Bio-leaching extraction of Lithium from the St Austell China Clay waste "mountains".

 

[seeSimon]

There was a proposal for Bio-leaching extraction of Lithium from the St Austell China Clay waste "mountains".

Here, this is the current situation...

Cornish Lithium Plc. | Lithium exploration within Cornwall, UK

But then, I'm old enough to have seen several iterations of the plans for both the waste mountains (sand/grit) and the pits left by the China Clay industry (nowadays mostly French owned by Imerys- not very popular localy)

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Plenty shiny crystals, but none that'll make you a millionaire. Quartz is most likely; calcite maybe. Assorted other things in mineral veins.

Actually, I was thinking about it, and there is the POTENTIAL for minerals like emerald, sapphire, ruby, tourmaline etc. They can be accessory minerals in mineral veins. But I wouldn't bet on it!

 

[johnalison]

Here, this is the current situation...

Cornish Lithium Plc. | Lithium exploration within Cornwall, UK

But then, I'm old enough to have seen several iterations of the plans for both the waste mountains (sand/grit) and the pits left by the China Clay industry (nowadays mostly French owned by Imerys- not very popular localy)

There was always great excitement when approaching Cornwall to see when the first 'white mountain' would be spotted. They were so characteristic of the area, and not unattractive individually, that I was very sad when we no longer saw them. When I last sailed by about ten years ago there was a large elongated mound to be seen at that distance and a few lumps. I know they were industrial waste, but they were almost the first thing I would think of when Cornwall came to mind.

 

[AndyDavies]

Diamonds are highly unlikely - the geological conditions for them aren't there. Diamonds form very deep in the earth, near the crust/mantle boundary, and it requires a particular, rare, form of vulcanism to bring them to the surface. Alluvial deposits are possible, but there's no source anywhere near Cornwall. You might find tiny (microscopic) diamonds in a few places in the Highlands, in eclogites, but not in England or Wales.

I vaguely remember being told on a course that there was evidence of Kimberlite magmatism in the Lizard ophiolite.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

I vaguely remember being told on a course that there was evidence of Kimberlite magmatism in the Lizard ophiolite.

Don't know about that, but it's doubtful. Ophiolites are former oceanic crust, and kimberlite magmatism is associated with ancient continental crust.

 

[NPMR]

The copper and tin extracted in the past created so much wealth that it has been described as the making of multiple Bill Gates's. That money is still filtering down today, with many large estates and properties held by those with 'old' money.

 

[AndyDavies]

Don't know about that, but it's doubtful. Ophiolites are former oceanic crust, and kimberlite magmatism is associated with ancient continental crust.

There are certainly diamonds in the Oman ophiolite, which was the subject under discussion when the Lizard was mentioned. Lizardlite, named after The Lizard, is a metamorphosed ultramafic peridotite with its parent rock originating below the Moho crustal boundary.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

There are certainly diamonds in the Oman ophiolite, which was the subject under discussion when the Lizard was mentioned. Lizardlite, named after The Lizard, is a metamorphosed ultramafic peridotite with its parent rock originating below the Moho crustal boundary.

At this rate viago is going to get his pick and shovel out and hot foot it across the Tamar.

 

[seeSimon]

There was always great excitement when approaching Cornwall to see when the first 'white mountain' would be spotted. They were so characteristic of the area, and not unattractive individually, that I was very sad when we no longer saw them. When I last sailed by about ten years ago there was a large elongated mound to be seen at that distance and a few lumps. I know they were industrial waste, but they were almost the first thing I would think of when Cornwall came to mind.

They've kept one old-school conical tip, or "white pyramid " as they are known. The "Treverbyn Sky Tip". This is some sort of monument/memorial, and has a large Cornish flag flying on the top. Most of the others have been dressed over to look more like natural hills.

This distinctive tip is visible from St Austell Bay...which as another sign of changing times ...is now perhaps 75% occupied by mussel and seaweed farms.

 

[Slowtack]

Hows Cap'n Poldark's mine doing?