West Basset Stamps, Basset Mines, Carnkie, Carn Brea, Cornwall, England, UK
A cut and polished section of quartz showing dark smoky quartz with shattered pyrite and chalcopyrite. Self collected from the remnants of the dumps at Thomas's Shaft of West Wheal Basset Mine.
© Dale Foster Collection
Bismutite on Bismuthinite, in quartz, West Wheal Basset, 2019, G. Curtis
© George E S Curtis
© De Nul, Richard
Deep green malachite on a quartz/limonite matrix. Collection and photo - Colin Fearon
Orange tinted transparent bundles of visually identified Aragonite crystals glowing with internal fire from the camera lights. The picture colour is close to actual colour. Similar samples have vigorous reaction to HCl. The colouration is probably due to iron contamination. G.Curtis, West Basset, August 2019.
Yellowish Autunite immediately within a crust of highly radioactive but badly weathered Uraninite. Found with aid of GM counter, bright green under UV. On close inspection it appears to be a stack of misaligned rectangular plates. West Basset, Sept 2019, G.Curtis
Several blue Anatase crystal groups and individuals found in quartz with chlorite. G.Curtis - Jan 2020
© G.Curtis
Mystery mineral identified as dolomite by slow reaction to cold acid, revealing it is actually pearly white (see child pics). Crystal structure at first thought to be apatite, but it doesn't fluoresce.
Dark blue Anatase on chlorite on quartz from West Wheal Basset, one of over 20 such crystals on sample. 8 Feb 2020 G.Curtis.
Orange tinted transparent bundles of Aragonite crystals glowing with internal fire from the camera lights. The picture colour is close to actual colour. Similar samples have vigorous reaction to HCl. The child picture was taken in reduced light in order to show that it is in fact transparent and colourless in transmitted ...
Orange tinted transparent bundles of Aragonite crystals glowing with internal fire from the camera lights. The picture colour is close to actual colour. Similar samples have vigorous reaction to HCl. Child pic taken at different angle and different lighting to better show the structure and colour variation. G.Curtis, West Basset, August 2019.
Thomas' shaft, West basset, large lump of quartz containing many of these Wolframite crystals. The yellow is an artefact of the light. G. Curtis July 22.
The West Basset stamps markstone. Photo taken July 24, 2013 by Paul De Bondt.
© Collection and photo © 2013, Paul De Bondt
A battery of buddles on the sett. Collection and photo, Paul De Bondt.
© Collection and Copyright © 2017, Paul De Bondt
The huge building who used to contain the shaking tables. Collection and photo, Paul De Bondt.
Showing the principal features of both West Basset Stamps and Wheal Basset. Ordnance Survey 6 inch series 1888. [Response to my enquiry. "Crown Copyright does not extend to any Ordnance Survey mapping published prior to 1973. As such you can use extracts from OS mapping published in 1906 without any additional fees or licencing required."]
There are many buddles in this building but they are being lost to the undergrowth. Sept '22
I often ponder on the enormous costs that must have gone into the buildings for mines. Obviously modern buildings are expensive but they can be fabricated elsewhere, craned in and assembled in days on the groundworks. These blocks however had to be quarried, faced, transported and fitted and at very rough guess that long block weighs upwards of ...
One of the better preserved buddles (for how much longer?). Most of the others are inaccessible and fully grown over. Sept '22
Shaking Table House. Sept '22
Adjacent to Lyle's Shaft. sept '22