• At the top, a banner shows a card reading "Greedy Hog fluorite, UK Mining Ventures" with their logo for the pocket, a pig with a top hat and monocle looking at juicy blue-green fluorite crystals. Below, the options begin and are shown in indoor lighting without the blue glow. Options A through C are small twinned cubic crystals with rich green color, option B having the best clarity and covered with surface etching. Options A and C have some grayish mineral growth.
  • Three thumbnail specimens of twinned cubic fluorite, each mounted on a small clear acrylic square, and lined up in a hand to show their small scale. The fluorite specimens are vibrant green with deep blue edges and corners.
  • Labeled 'blue daylight fluorescence,' and 'indirect sun' with a detail view of a partial cube of fluorite that has a vibrant blue surface, the interior emerald green with a yellowish core.
  • Labeled 'excellent surface details' with four very close detail images of surface etching on different fluorite specimens. There are small four-sided pyramids inverted into the surface of them all, with varying sizes on each but all oriented in the same direction relative to the face. The example in the lower right is different, with one corner of the pyramid stretched to form a kite shape instead.
  • Options D through F on the top, and G through I on the bottom. Option D is in intriguing cluster of small rectanglur crystals, with excellent glassy surface luster and clarity. Option E is a large cube with deep green color and large pyramid etch pits across the surface. Options F through I are twinned crystals. Options F and G have good surface striations, with some etch pits. Options H and I have cross-hatch etching. Options F and I haver a duller surface luster.
  • Options J through O, some very small partial cubic crystals. Option J is a rectangle with large etch pits. Option K is twinned, with a small corner poking out the surface like a nose. Option M is the smallest but has a glowing jewel color with excellent clarity. Option N also has very good jewel color and clarity. Options L and O have darker color, O with good cubic form, and L multiple partial crystals.
  • Options P through U. Options P through R are much lighter in color than the rest, the emerald green color more minty and obscured by milky inclusions and white mineral intergrowth, the surface dull. Some faces are covered with white or gray mineral. They are composed of several small cubic crystals. Options S through U are partially obscured in this manner, but have better green color and very good cubic form, with options S and T twinned.
  • Options V through AA. These options are fractured pieces that appear bit messier, but they have some good form, clarity, or color. Options V, W, and Y are multiple intergrown cubic crystals with okay clarity but good color and some surface etching details. Option X is a thin broken corner of a crystal and shows good color zoning. It is vibrant emerald green, the core a murky purple-gray, and a thin band of yellow between. Option Z is a cleaved piece with excellent color and clarity. Option AA is a partial c
  • Options BB through GG, which are higher quality specimens than the rest. Option BB has different color, the surface light green but distinct color zoning with the core a deep purple-gray. Options CC and DD are partial cubes with good color, clarity, and surface etching details. Options EE through GG are a bit larger, with excellent clarity and vivid emerald green color. Option EE and GG are twinned, FF cubic, and all have good surface etching details.
  • Options HH through MM, slightly larger specimens all showing twinned growth. Options HH, JJ, and KK have white mottling, the rest are more pure emerald green. Options II, LL, and MM have good surface etch patterns with the edges of the cubes etched. Option KK has deep gemmy green color, LL has bright color, and MM has very good clarity. HH is a more basic twinned cube.
  • Scale image showing the range of size of the thumbnails. The larger pieces are mounted on one and a quarter inch acrylic squares, and are two thirds of an inch to a bit over inch. The smaller pieces are mounted on one-inch acrylic squares and are a half inch or larger.
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'Greedy Hog' Weardale fluorite thumbnails

'Greedy Hog' Weardale fluorite thumbnails

$5.00 USD
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Locality: Greedy Hog Pocket, Diana Maria Mine, Weardale, County Durham, England

Approx size: 0.5–1"

Approx weight: 2-10g with options HH–MM 11-18g

❗Sunlight will fade the color in fluorite. Keep sun exposure brief; do not display in a sun-exposed location (even if it looks cool!)

 

Weardale is among the most renowned sources for fluorite among collectors, producing gemmy cubic crystals with Jolly-Rancher colors and strong UV reactivity.

These twinned cubic crystals come via UK Mining Ventures, who currently own and operate the famed Diana Maria, Lady Anabella, and Rogerly mines in Weardale. The Greedy Hog Pocket is at the convergence of the Greenbank and River Catcher veins in the Diana Maria mine. The pocket is named in reference to its miner, who liked to extract whole pockets by himself.

Greedy Hog fluorite is typically vivid green to emerald-green in color with deep blue daylight fluorescence. Daylight fluorescence means the material reacts to the UV in sunlight, taking on an other-worldly intense cobalt blue glow. 

Many but not all of these specimens are twinned crystals. 'Twinning' is very common in Weardale fluorite and means that two or more fluorite crystals have intergrown, and actually share the same crystal lattice. They appear as though one cube is embedded inside the other, so that its corners poke out of the faces of the other cube. The crystals are marked by geometric striations across many faces, easiest to view in reflected light. These striations radiate out from where the edge of the intersecting crystal breaks the surface of the face.

Many of these specimens are speckled with small pits on the faces; under magnification they are inverted four-sided pyramids—basically, half of an octahedron. This is caused by natural etching just like trigons in diamonds, and the etch pits can cover the face enough to cause a sheen effect. Etching also causes the diagonal cross-hatched pattern on the face of some crystals, as the etching effectively highlights the mineral's natural cleavage planes.

UV Reactivity: Weardale fluorites have high rare earth element content, contributing to their strong UV reaction. These Hidden Forest specimens react with a strong light blue glow under several UV wavelengths, and they are very bright when exposed to a powerful 365nm UV light. I detected weak to moderate phosphorescence that lingers several seconds (5+ secs) after exposure to 365nm.

☀ The daylight fluorescence effect was photographed on a cloudy day; I find the glow appears the most intense in indirect or diffused sun—for example, enjoy your fluorite outdoors on an overcast day, or near a window indoors.

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