Minerals from Greece
This tag collects together all the current minerals we have in stock that come from Greece.
Below the product listings, I’ve gone into a little depth about mineral specimens from Greece – famous locales and specimens, and those that are most well known amongst collectors.
Showing all 2 results
Mining has been an important part of Greek history for millenia, with evidence of mining for lead and silver at Laurion from as early as 3200BC.
Siphnos was worked for gold and silver, Macedonia for gold, Cyprus for copper. Copper, silver, lead and gold helped to build the ancient Greek empire.
As of modern times; Greece still has considerable deposits of some minerals and materials, including magnesite, bentonite, perlite, pumice and quality marble.
Greece is the type locality for nearly fifty minerals, most of which are uncommon or rare, but one very recognisable – magnesite!
I’ve had some rather nice specimens from Greece, mostly from the Lavrion area. My favourite locales are probably the following..
- Annabergite from the KM3 mines of Lavrion, Attica.
- Pyrite from Madam-Lakkos mine, Chalkidiki.
- Rhodochrosite from Madam-Lakkos mine, Chalkidiki.
- Smithsonite from the Hilarion Mine, Lavrion, Attica.
- Smithsonite from various locations around Lavrion.
Further reading
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mines_of_Laurion
- https://depositsmag.com/2016/07/14/mining-in-ancient-greece-and-rome/
- https://mininghistoryassociation.org/Journal/MHJ-v3-1996-Economopoulos.pdf
- https://www.mindat.org/loc-14188.html
We do also sometimes have fossils and other specimens from Greece – see the links below.
Greece
Minerals from Greece