Fine mineral specimens, from the localities that made them collectable.
Tsumeb and Ojuela, Broken Hill and the Cornish copper mines, Weardale fluorite and the Caldbeck lead secondaries — what each locality produced and how to buy well.
Broadstone Minerals deals in fine mineral specimens worldwide, with particular depth in the classic British localities. This site holds 19 reference pages covering Tsumeb in Namibia, Ojuela in Mexico and Broken Hill in Australia alongside Cornwall, Weardale, the Caldbeck Fells, Derbyshire, the Mendips and Leadhills — the species each produced, what separates a good specimen from a great one, and what to check before you buy.
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Classic localities, worldwide
The mines and orefields that set the standard for their species, in Namibia, Mexico, Australia and across Britain.
Cornwall
Two centuries of copper and tin mining left Cornwall with a mineral suite few regions anywhere can match, and a …
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Devon
Devon shares Cornwall's geology and a good deal of its mineralogy, with tungsten at Hemerdon and a copper-a…
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The Caldbeck Fells
A small area of northern Lakeland that produced some of the most distinctive lead secondaries in Britain, campyl…
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Fluorite
The most collected British mineral, and the one where locality does most of the work in setting a price.…
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Pyromorphite
A lead phosphate that produces some of Britain's most distinctive specimens, including the barrel-shaped ca…
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Cassiterite
The mineral that funded Cornwall. Heavy, hard, and at its best forming the elbow twins collectors chase.…
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Specimen sizes, and what the trade terms mean
Size categories are conventions, not standards. Knowing them stops you buying something far smaller than you pic…
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Buying old collection material
Most classic British material is old. That makes labels part of the value and restoration a normal question rath…
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Handling and storing specimens
Most damage to a collection happens in a drawer, not in the field. What actually threatens specimens, and what t…
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