Fluorite from Newlandside Quarry, County Durham

Fluorite specimens from Newlandside Quarry, Stanhope, County Durham, UK

A selection of specimens of Fluorite from the Newlandside Quarry locale in County Durham.

These pieces are mostly a grey-purple with the occasional hint of green; the edges are usually in reasonably good condition, but they are still at the budget end of the specimen scale. They mostly do possess the cloudy inclusions common to County Durham pieces. They are mostly at least somewhat UV reactive under a Convoy T2 at 365nm.

There isn't a huge amount of information about Newlandside Quarry that I could find. It has been operated as a limestone quarry, but also produces some Fluorite and Galena.

It is mentioned as being opened during the reign of Queen Victoria, then being closed and reopened a few times until 1983, when it closed. It was then reopened again in 2021 and seems to still be operating as of 12/23.