Interesting article in The Times today about graphite mining - but it’s hidden behind a paywall, so I’ll copy it for you:
When investigators later examined this wondrous material they declared it must be lead ore, but it wasn’t lead, it was an extremely pure form of graphite. The discovery of the high-grade Borrowdale graphite eventually gave rise to the pencil - what is often called the “lead” pencil even though it doesn’t contain lead - and quickly spawned a mining industry. The graphite was used not just for pencils but also for lining moulds for making cannon and musket balls.
The graphite became so prized that by the 1600s it was more valuable than gold, but attracted thieves and armed robbers, with attacks becoming so serious that an act of parliament was passed in 1752 to make the theft of graphite a crime punishable by imprisonment or transportation overseas. However, the pilfering of graphite remained a problem, which is said to have given rise to the term “black market”.
Storm that uncovered graphite and gave rise to term ‘black market’
March is no stranger to stormy weather, but a storm in the Lake District on this day 460 years ago - March 26, 1564 - led to an amazing discovery. The storm uprooted an ash tree at Seathwaite Fell in Borrowdale, and, according to legend, shepherds looking for lost sheep stumbled on the fallen tree and found lumps of a strange, shiny black material buried in the ground where the tree had stood. The shepherds quickly found that the material made thick black marks, so they used it for marking their sheep.When investigators later examined this wondrous material they declared it must be lead ore, but it wasn’t lead, it was an extremely pure form of graphite. The discovery of the high-grade Borrowdale graphite eventually gave rise to the pencil - what is often called the “lead” pencil even though it doesn’t contain lead - and quickly spawned a mining industry. The graphite was used not just for pencils but also for lining moulds for making cannon and musket balls.
The graphite became so prized that by the 1600s it was more valuable than gold, but attracted thieves and armed robbers, with attacks becoming so serious that an act of parliament was passed in 1752 to make the theft of graphite a crime punishable by imprisonment or transportation overseas. However, the pilfering of graphite remained a problem, which is said to have given rise to the term “black market”.