Precious minerals within coal seams

[dazbt]

I once found an almost perfectly spherical 'metallic' looking object totally embedded within a piece of coal, it looked like a corroded ball from a bearing, about 20mm diameter and similar in weight. I carried it around with me for a while and eventually decided to 'test it' by striking it with a hammer (an action that I now regret, it broke with the lightest of taps, producing one almost perfect half and the other fifty percent smashed into a hundred tiny fragments. I have since been led to believe that this was an almost perfect and very rare natural form of marcasite and as a collector's specimen would have been worth a shilling or two. Over the years I've found the occasional piece of high quality haematite and bandings of so called cannel coal that was pretty close to semi-precious gemstone jet quality, both examples polished up and used in jewellery. I've seen pure white quartz intrusions and even calcite but I've never managed to find any gold other than that of fools ............... but that's not to say that the real McCoy wasn't there for the finding;

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/gold-in-coal-raises-shining-prospect-1458689.html

[bob737]

While working for Thyssens at Newdigate Colliery near Bedworth Warwickshire in the late 1970s, and my colleague, John Moseley and I were back ripping the West Main, we happened across a heavy round nodule of about 150mm in diameter. We were working in rock (mostly mudstone with bands of ironstone) but this nodule looked very different from the surrounding strata. John tossed the nodule over the conveyor to me as I was working on the 'walking side' with 2 foot gauge rails and a rope haulage. I placed the nodule on a rail and cracked it open with the 7 lb hammer.

The interior was largely hollow with what looked like the proverbial 'Aladdin's Cave' of various, colourful minerals. The surface of this internal cavity was covered in tiny white glistening crystals but with flecks of various other colours embedded in the surface of this amazing specimen! Intriguingly, there were also a series of slightly greenish-gold 'needles' bridging some of the irregular shaped void within.

We took the nodule home and my mate showed his half to an old naturalist friend who identified a few of the minerals but was 'stumped' by some. He sent it on to a geologist friend at a university in Birmingham who identified the remaining mystery minerals all except for one. This geologist then sent the sample on to his friend at the Science Museum (Geology) in London. Some time later the news came to us that the nodule was a 'Septarian Nodule' and last remaining unidentified mineral was in fact a little known mineral called 'Retgersite'. What was really surprising wasn't any potential monetary value of the sample, but its pure rarity value. It turned out that this was only the 4th discovery of this particular mineral in the world! It was first identified in Nevada in 1949, once more in Germany and once in a South American country (can't now remember which) and now in Britain for the first time. My friend was asked if the sample could be retained in London for the National Collection to which he readily agreed.

Shortly after, and while still back-ripping the West Main, we saw the approaching lamp of our boss, Josep Aigner, the Site Engineer. When he got to us he asked why we were sitting down and not working. "Haven't you heard Zep?" we asked him. "Heard what?" he enquired (he knew about our find by this time). "Well," we said, "It seems like the government have slapped a preservation order on the rip as the only known site of a rare mineral in Britain so all we can do now is look after it and make sure it isn't disturbed!" He quickly turned incandescent while we fell about laughing. Despite what you may have heard about the German sense of humour, he did see the funny side, eventually, and the story was retold by him many times...

[dazbt]

Brilliant find Bob, makes you wonder what other "gems" have been shovelled away without even a second thought. It would seem that Newdigate Colliery was a site of mineralogical interest having provided samples of minerals;

Chalcopyrite
Galena
Gypsum
Limonite
Malachite
Millerite
Siderite
Sphalerite
Zaratite

but nothing quite as rare as your find.

from the internet;

"RETGERSITE, NiS04.6H20: A NEW BRITISH
OCCURRENCE FROM WARWICKSHIRE
D.R.G. WALKER
City of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery , Birmingham. B3 3DH
In October, 1980 a mineralised septarian nodule
collected from Newdigate Colliery, near
Bedworth, southwest of Nuneaton, Warwickshire,
was taken to the City of Birmingham Museum for
identification.
The sulfide minerals present in this typical Coal
Measures clay ironstone septarian nodule, which
included millerite and galena , were readily
identifiable, but an associated green oxidation
product warranted a more detailed examination.
Accordingly a portion of the nodule, bearing the
unknown green material. was sent to the British
Museum (Natural History). The tetragonal
hydrated nickel sulfate phase retgersite was
subsequently identified.
Retgersite is a rare mineral, first fully described
by Frondel and Pal ache (1949, p.188) . To the
writer's knowledge the occurrence described here
is only the second known in Britain, the first being
reported by Macpherson and Livingstone (1982,
p.32) from "Menimuir Burn" near Cassencarie,
Kirkcudbrightshire, where it occurs associated
with niccolite and annabergite.
The horizon at which the septarian nodules
occur is approximately 6 m above the Two Yard
Coal in the Lower similis-pulchra zone of the
Middle Coal Measures (Ammanian) of the
Warwickshire Coalfield (Mitchell, 1954;
Ramsbottom et af. , 1978). The mineralised nodule
was collected approximately 2 km west of
Newdigate Colliery Shafts.
The principal sulfide present in the material
brought to the museum is millerite which takes the
form of acicular or capillary crystals up to 24 mm in
length radiating out from a common centre. The
crystal groups are dispersed on the
microcrystalline surfaces (dominantly
rhombohedra) of the chalybite-covered septa
voids, and are commonly associated with galena.
The colour is dark brass but there are degrees of
tarnish producing darker shades. The acicular
crystals are commonly coated with minute single
and groups of retgersite crystals, sometimes
investing single crystals of millerite completely.
Also associated with millerite are thin films of
yellow-green zaratitc. Ni)(CO)(OH)4.4HzO.
The galena is always crystallised as aggregated
cubes, sometimes elongate parallel to {100}. Rare
cubo-octahedra have been observed. The largest
crystal observed was 4 mm in length . Sphalerite is
present as thin blackish-brown films, but precedes
the chalybite-millerite phase.
Chalcopyrite is late in the paragenesIs and is
present as single or compound tetragonal crystals
dispersed on the chalybite surfaces, but all are
tarnished or show a development of limonite and
specks of malachite.
The retgersite is always associated with millerite
and isolated crystalline masses betray the former
presence of millerite. Its most common form is that
of minute crystalline masses in and around the
focus of radiate groups of millerite crystals. The
single crystals, observed along the lengths of
millerite crystals, show tetragonal faces, although
the crystals are only minute fractions of a
millimetre in prismatic length. Both crystalline
masses and single crystals are emerald-green in
colour with a vitreous lustre. They are transparent
and frequently show marked cleavage traces.
It would appear that the retgersite has been
formed by normal oxidation processes under
essentially atmospheric conditions.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The writer would like to acknowledge the help he
has received from Mr J. Francis of the British
Museum (Natural History) for the identification of
zaratite and the retgersite by X-ray diffraction
techniques.
A specimen from this occurrence has been
deposited in the collections of the Department of
Mineralogy in the British Museum (Natural
History) under accession No. X20482. Other
material from the occurrence is lodged in the
mineral collection of the City of Birmingham
Museum under accession No. G.4.82.
REFERENCES
Frondel, C. and Palache, C., 1949. Retgersite,"

[bob737]

Oct 17, 2013 7:50:08 GMT -5 dazbt said:

Brilliant find Bob, makes you wonder what other "gems" have been shovelled away without even a second thought. It would seem that Newdigate Colliery was a site of mineralogical interest having provided samples of minerals;

Chalcopyrite
Galena
Gypsum
Limonite
Malachite
Millerite
Siderite
Sphalerite
Zaratite

but nothing quite as rare as your find.

from the internet;

"RETGERSITE, NiS04.6H20: A NEW BRITISH
OCCURRENCE FROM WARWICKSHIRE
D.R.G. WALKER
City of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery , Birmingham. B3 3DH
In October, 1980 a mineralised septarian nodule
collected from Newdigate Colliery, near
Bedworth, southwest of Nuneaton, Warwickshire,
was taken to the City of Birmingham Museum for
identification.
The sulfide minerals present in this typical Coal
Measures clay ironstone septarian nodule, which
included millerite and galena , were readily
identifiable, but an associated green oxidation
product warranted a more detailed examination.
Accordingly a portion of the nodule, bearing the
unknown green material. was sent to the British
Museum (Natural History). The tetragonal
hydrated nickel sulfate phase retgersite was
subsequently identified.
Retgersite is a rare mineral, first fully described
by Frondel and Pal ache (1949, p.188) . To the
writer's knowledge the occurrence described here
is only the second known in Britain, the first being
reported by Macpherson and Livingstone (1982,
p.32) from "Menimuir Burn" near Cassencarie,
Kirkcudbrightshire, where it occurs associated
with niccolite and annabergite.
The horizon at which the septarian nodules
occur is approximately 6 m above the Two Yard
Coal in the Lower similis-pulchra zone of the
Middle Coal Measures (Ammanian) of the
Warwickshire Coalfield (Mitchell, 1954;
Ramsbottom et af. , 1978). The mineralised nodule
was collected approximately 2 km west of
Newdigate Colliery Shafts.
The principal sulfide present in the material
brought to the museum is millerite which takes the
form of acicular or capillary crystals up to 24 mm in
length radiating out from a common centre. The
crystal groups are dispersed on the
microcrystalline surfaces (dominantly
rhombohedra) of the chalybite-covered septa
voids, and are commonly associated with galena.
The colour is dark brass but there are degrees of
tarnish producing darker shades. The acicular
crystals are commonly coated with minute single
and groups of retgersite crystals, sometimes
investing single crystals of millerite completely.
Also associated with millerite are thin films of
yellow-green zaratitc. Ni)(CO)(OH)4.4HzO.
The galena is always crystallised as aggregated
cubes, sometimes elongate parallel to {100}. Rare
cubo-octahedra have been observed. The largest
crystal observed was 4 mm in length . Sphalerite is
present as thin blackish-brown films, but precedes
the chalybite-millerite phase.
Chalcopyrite is late in the paragenesIs and is
present as single or compound tetragonal crystals
dispersed on the chalybite surfaces, but all are
tarnished or show a development of limonite and
specks of malachite.
The retgersite is always associated with millerite
and isolated crystalline masses betray the former
presence of millerite. Its most common form is that
of minute crystalline masses in and around the
focus of radiate groups of millerite crystals. The
single crystals, observed along the lengths of
millerite crystals, show tetragonal faces, although
the crystals are only minute fractions of a
millimetre in prismatic length. Both crystalline
masses and single crystals are emerald-green in
colour with a vitreous lustre. They are transparent
and frequently show marked cleavage traces.
It would appear that the retgersite has been
formed by normal oxidation processes under
essentially atmospheric conditions.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The writer would like to acknowledge the help he
has received from Mr J. Francis of the British
Museum (Natural History) for the identification of
zaratite and the retgersite by X-ray diffraction
techniques.
A specimen from this occurrence has been
deposited in the collections of the Department of
Mineralogy in the British Museum (Natural
History) under accession No. X20482. Other
material from the occurrence is lodged in the
mineral collection of the City of Birmingham
Museum under accession No. G.4.82.
REFERENCES
Frondel, C. and Palache, C., 1949. Retgersite,"

[bob737]

Brilliant piece of research dazbt! Thank you for showing us that information - and it bears out my story too. It was quite an exciting find, for those who like that sort of thing..., and the 'fun' we had with Zep was worth the hassle too! Its not easy to see humour on a rock back rip, but we had some at that time and it was worth it! - Happy daze...

[mineralroy]

Can anyone put me in touch with bob737? I am working on a book about the minerals of the English Midlands and would very much like to speak with him about the millerite occurrence at Newdigate Colliery. Thanks for your help. You can contact me via my website www.britishmineralogy.com

Hope to hear from someone.

Roy

[John]

May 17, 2016 2:29:07 GMT -5 mineralroy said:

Can anyone put me in touch with bob737? I am working on a book about the minerals of the English Midlands and would very much like to speak with him about the millerite occurrence at Newdigate Colliery. Thanks for your help. You can contact me via my website www.britishmineralogy.com

Hope to hear from someone.

Roy

I can't divulge his email address Roy, but I've sent him an email for you with a link to your site.

[dazbt]

Gold from coal ash waste ................ seen this claim before but not at these sort of values, up to £213 of gold from 1 tonne of fly ash, I wonder what the cost of extracting this would be? Either way that's an awful lot of gold from coal waste.

[John]

Jun 5, 2016 16:32:12 GMT -5 dazbt said:

Gold from coal ash waste ................ seen this claim before but not at these sort of values, up to £213 of gold from 1 tonne of fly ash, I wonder what the cost of extracting this would be? Either way that's an awful lot of gold from coal waste.

About 0.5 of an ounce, can't see it being a viable proposition Daz.

[dazbt]

Jun 5, 2016 18:29:31 GMT -5 John said:

Jun 5, 2016 16:32:12 GMT -5 dazbt said:

Gold from coal ash waste ................ seen this claim before but not at these sort of values, up to £213 of gold from 1 tonne of fly ash, I wonder what the cost of extracting this would be? Either way that's an awful lot of gold from coal waste.

About 0.5 of an ounce, can't see it being a viable proposition Daz.

Today's gold price at £862oz makes it very close to 0.25oz. If all the claims as to the various elements that can be extracted from flyash are true (Gold, Platinum, Thorium, Uranium etc) and then the residual being used as a 'safe' building material it seems to be an area that is going to be worth examining in the near future. The Chinese already reckon that they can make a profit from re-working coal flyash, wonder if they use any sort of photovoltaic process?

[colly0410]

Hmm, the concrete blocks on the inner wall of my cavity wall house is made partly of fly ash. Does that mean I'm rich with all that gold in there? Thought not, lol..

[dazbt]

Jun 6, 2016 9:28:17 GMT -5 colly0410 said:

Hmm, the concrete blocks on the inner wall of my cavity wall house is made partly of fly ash. Does that mean I'm rich with all that gold in there? Thought not, lol..

Nar, probably not, ...................... but you do have a reasonable chance of being irradiated, Chinese dry wall and plasterboards made from flyash caused quite a 'stink' in the US a couple of years ago ........... the same boards were allegedly distributed by a German company and used throughout Europe but the story wasn't well published, expect headaches and keep a lookout for the rash.

[John]

Recovered Gypsum from power station desulpherization.

[merlin]

Oct 17, 2013 4:40:56 GMT -5 bob737 said:

While working for Thyssens at Newdigate Colliery near Bedworth Warwickshire in the late 1970s, and my colleague, John Moseley and I were back ripping the West Main, we happened across a heavy round nodule of about 150mm in diameter. We were working in rock (mostly mudstone with bands of ironstone) but this nodule looked very different from the surrounding strata. John tossed the nodule over the conveyor to me as I was working on the 'walking side' with 2 foot gauge rails and a rope haulage. I placed the nodule on a rail and cracked it open with the 7 lb hammer.

The interior was largely hollow with what looked like the proverbial 'Aladdin's Cave' of various, colourful minerals. The surface of this internal cavity was covered in tiny white glistening crystals but with flecks of various other colours embedded in the surface of this amazing specimen! Intriguingly, there were also a series of slightly greenish-gold 'needles' bridging some of the irregular shaped void within.

We took the nodule home and my mate showed his half to an old naturalist friend who identified a few of the minerals but was 'stumped' by some. He sent it on to a geologist friend at a university in Birmingham who identified the remaining mystery minerals all except for one. This geologist then sent the sample on to his friend at the Science Museum (Geology) in London. Some time later the news came to us that the nodule was a 'Septarian Nodule' and last remaining unidentified mineral was in fact a little known mineral called 'Retgersite'. What was really surprising wasn't any potential monetary value of the sample, but its pure rarity value. It turned out that this was only the 4th discovery of this particular mineral in the world! It was first identified in Nevada in 1949, once more in Germany and once in a South American country (can't now remember which) and now in Britain for the first time. My friend was asked if the sample could be retained in London for the National Collection to which he readily agreed.

Shortly after, and while still back-ripping the West Main, we saw the approaching lamp of our boss, Josep Aigner, the Site Engineer. When he got to us he asked why we were sitting down and not working. "Haven't you heard Zep?" we asked him. "Heard what?" he enquired (he knew about our find by this time). "Well," we said, "It seems like the government have slapped a preservation order on the rip as the only known site of a rare mineral in Britain so all we can do now is look after it and make sure it isn't disturbed!" He quickly turned incandescent while we fell about laughing. Despite what you may have heard about the German sense of humour, he did see the funny side, eventually, and the story was retold by him many times...

[merlin]

perhaps a alien dropped it millions of years ago