stalactites for sale

axbridgecaver

axbridgecaver

Member
After making the magnificent sum of £4.99 on his last sale of formations he is at it again -


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rare-Cave-Formed-Double-STALACTITE-specimen-Dorset-UK_W0QQitemZ6638228139QQcategoryZ3220QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 
cap n chris

cap n chris

Well-known member
Having written to this vendor three times in total now I think they've got the message from me but obviously decided to ignore it. Would someone else care to write?...
 
axbridgecaver

axbridgecaver

Member
And again; it seem as though he is trying to sell one a week -

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rare-Cave-CALCITE-CURTAIN-with-STALACTITE-Dorset-UK_W0QQitemZ130000719950QQcategoryZ3220QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Howvever he has modified his introduction -

Genuine British cave minerals are rarely offered for sale for the simple reason that cave minerals belong left in place for all to enjoy & such mineralisation is thus protected from removal. This example was collected (rescued!) from a quarry in Dorset, England which was in the process of blasting through a cave system!

 
axbridgecaver

axbridgecaver

Member
The same person has just sold two formations for £24.63. There were three bidders in this auction. Its seems that auctions of this type will only encourage people to collect and sell cave specimens. What the buyers do not realise is that when a formation is removed from its natural environment it becomes very dull and lifeless - but here I am preaching to the converted.

226952337_f08ebfee8e.jpg


"Two RARE CAVE formed CALCITE stalactite specimens the longest some 14.5cm long. Both have a lovely rippled surface formed by the constant flow of water droplets.  The tip is missing on the larger of the two but at least this allows the internal structure of the stalactite to be seen! There is a slight chip to the end of the shorter one.

British stalactites are rarely offered for sale for the simple reason that cave minerals belong left in place for all to enjoy & such mineralisation is thus protected from removal. These examples were collected (rescued!) from a quarry in Dorset, England which was in the process of blasting through a cave system!"

 
P

Peter Burgess

New member
These examples were collected (rescued!) from a quarry in Dorset, England which was in the process of blasting through a cave system!
Click to expand...

Does anyone here actually believe this?

Alternatively, does anyone have any ideas where this quarry is?
 
cap n chris

cap n chris

Well-known member
The damage to the tips and the neat/surgical cut at the base support the idea of quarry salvage (i.e. some blast damage suffered and then subsequently cut out by the collector). Purbeck/Swanage stone mines/quarries are a possibility I s'pose.
 
gus horsley

gus horsley

New member
I'm sceptical about the origins of these formations.  Normally when mineral specimens are offerred for sale the precise location is given.  Stating they're from a "quarry in Dorset" is too vague for my liking.  I reckon they're from a cave.
 
P

Peter Burgess

New member
As far as I know the only sites in Dorset where active limestone quarrying takes place are on Portland, and near Swanage. The former is a recently opened mine, and the latter (I think) is/are near Worth Matravers. I don't think either use explosives, and the size of these stals suggest a sizeable cavity. Prtland has its rift caves, but Purbeck has nothing as far as I know. It is possible that the latter has unroofed old underground workings where stal has grown, but for an old quarry, that is quite an impressive length. My suspicions remain strong that these are from natural caves in a classic karst region. Not that there is anything we can legally do about it under current legislation.
 
axbridgecaver

axbridgecaver

Member
Here we go again - soon the Dorset Quarry stock must be exhausted.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=003&item=130022590457&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

"Two RARE CAVE formed CALCITE stalactite specimens the longest some 10cm long.

The longer of the two has a lovely rippled surface formed by the constant flow of water droplets & a hollow tip. The small one is complete & interestingly has numerous calcite crystals growing around it - the ridges of which represent former water levels.

British stalactites are rarely offered for sale for the simple reason that cave minerals belong left in place for all to enjoy & such mineralisation is thus protected from removal. These examples were collected (rescued!) from a quarry in Dorset, England which was in the process of blasting through a cave system!

Interesting items for any collection & sent with a label giving the full locality"

230425003_568d1d86eb.jpg
 
cap n chris

cap n chris

Well-known member
axbridgecaver said:
Here we go again - soon the Dorset Quarry stock must be exhausted.
Click to expand...

I doubt it. Flooding the market with multiple similar items creates a glut and lower prices; drip feeding (no pun intended) the market with occasional items creates false rarity and keeps the price(s) higher (OK, so they're not exactly stellar but £5 a time for a crappy broken bit of dull stal is still £5!). This vendor could realistically have bucket-loads of cave formations from even quite a modest/small chamber - I certainly wouldn't be surprised if s/he is able to offer cave formations on and off for years to come.
 
P

Peter Burgess

New member
These images are very clear. Can anyone here say one way or the other whether they look like the sort of stal that occurs in the Portland caves? If they do, and they are being recovered from the Portland stone mine currently being worked, perhaps a word with the quarry management might have some effect?

http://www.albionstone.com/profile.htm
 
gus horsley

gus horsley

New member
I'm even more doubtful that these have come froma quarry in Dorset which is blasting into a cave.  For one thing, it's highly unlikely that a quarry manager would give permission to someone in order to extract specimens under those circumstances.  And one of those specimens has been taken out of a calcite-rich pool in a low passage and shows no evidence of blast-damage.  I may be wrong but I would take a lot of convincing that those specimens haven't been nicked from a cave such as OFD.
 
M

MSD

Guest
The only way to get any evidence is to buy one and then subject it to exhaustive tests to determine exactly what minerals it contains, levels of radioative isotopes and so on. That ought to at least give an idea about whether it comes from where he says it does.

For a few quid it might just be worth it. Anybody got access to the sort of facilities and expert needed for the analysis?

Mark
 
graham

graham

New member
MSD said:
The only way to get any evidence is to buy one and then subject it to exhaustive tests to determine exactly what minerals it contains, levels of radioative isotopes and so on. That ought to at least give an idea about whether it comes from where he says it does.

For a few quid it might just be worth it. Anybody got access to the sort of facilities and expert needed for the analysis?

Mark
Click to expand...

Firstly, that'll cost more than a few quid.

Secondly do you, does anyone, have a database of samples from around the world with which to compare it?
 
M

MSD

Guest
Well obviously the analysis will cost more than a few quid if you paid for it, but maybe someone who has access to the facilities could do it for free.

To prove that it DOESN'T come from where the person selling it says it does it might be sufficient to match it against the rocks and water (or even better another actual sample) from the quarry concerned. To prove where it DOES come from would require the sort of database you refer to (unless of course the match is good).

It might well be that the seller is telling the truth....only some kind of analysis could prove the case one way or the other.

Mark
 
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