Mineral Gallery

Cornwall’s unique geology and minerals have shaped the history of this region. Uncover our world-renowned collection and learn how minerals underpin our modern world.

With a unique geology, Cornwall has more varieties of minerals than anywhere else in Britain. Extensive deposits of tin and copper mean Cornwall’s landscape has been mined for thousands of years. Mining for these minerals led to the discovery of others, some with practical uses, and others simply of unique and beautiful form.

The Mineral Gallery is home to a globally significant collection of more than 12,000 mineral samples, with Cornwall Museum and Art Gallery the caretaker of 3,500 years of mining history. The Mineral Gallery displays these incredible specimens for all to wonder at across themes including Deep Time (Geology); Minerals; Stone (rock); Mining; Landscape, Climate, and Environment.

Essential raw materials for modern daily life, the history of minerals and the vital role they perform is an important story to tell. From agriculture to construction and health through to the technology we rely on, minerals underpin our modern world. Today, Cornwall is emerging once again as an important player in mineral extraction with the Lithium industry.

Discover artefacts in the gallery

cornwall museum and art gallery mineral gallery rose quartz

Rose coloured Quartz and Calcite. Quartz is the crystalline form of silicon dioxide, while calcite is a calcium carbonate.

cornwall museum and art gallery chalcopyrite

Iron Pyrite, 'Fools Gold' from St Agnes extracted during the 19th Century. Despite its nickname, it is much lighter and more brittle than actual gold.

cornwall museum and art gallery mineral gallery quartz dolcoath mine camborne

Quartz specimens, ‘doubly terminated’ which means they have two naturally faceted and pointed ends, found at Dolcoath mine in Camborne.

cornwall museum and art gallery mineral gallery quartz iron pyrite seal hole mine st agnes

Quartz, with chalcopyrite, arsenopyrite and iron pyrite, part of the Philip Rashleigh Collection, found at Seal Hole Mine, St Agnes.

cornwall museum and art gallery mineral gallery stalactital geothite botallack mine st just

Stalactital geothite from Botallack Mine, St Just - an iron oxyhydroxide, made up of iron, oxygen, and hydrogen.

cornwall museum and art gallery mineral gallery cassiterite wheal kitty st agnes

The name wood tin comes from the formation of this type cassiterite, which resembles the texture of wood. This specimen has been polished to show the bands/rings of cassiterite within quartz. It is likely to have come from Wheal Kitty in St Agnes.

cornwall museum and art gallery mineral gallery

Minerals used to create mobile phones

cornwall museum and art gallery mineral gallery quartz lambshouse quarry tintagel

Quartz is a crystalline mineral composed of silicon dioxide, this fabulous example was believed to be found in Lambshouse Quarry, near Tintagel.

cornwall museum and art gallery mineral gallery galena lead sulphide besore kenwyn

Meet Galena, a lead sulphide and the leading ore of silver. It is found in hydrothermal veins, this specimen was from Besore, Kenwyn.

cornwall museum and art gallery mineral gallery cassiterite luxulyan st austell

A small but striking specimen of Cassiterite (a tin oxide) was found at Luxulyan, near St Austell. Cassiterite has been a predominant source of tin across the globe for thousands of years.

cornwall museum and art gallery mineral gallery white quartz crystal lanreath

This specimen of white (milky) quartz crystal was believed to be found in Lanreath. Its cloudiness comes from inclusions of fluids that have been enclosed inside the crystal as it formed.

cornwall museum and art gallery mineral gallery cuprite red copper ore wheal gorland st day

Cuprite, a red copper ore. Cuprite's crystals can range in colour from bright ruby red to nearly black.

cornwall museum and art gallery mineral gallery azurite malachite

This beautiful specimen of Azurite-Malachite combines the beautiful deep blue of Azurite with the light greens of Malachite.

cornwall museum and art gallery mineral gallery gold nugget

Gold nugget from Carnon River

cornwall museum and art gallery chalcopyrite carn brea

Chalcopyrite, a copper iron sulfide mineral. Chalcopyrite is probably the most important and major source of copper, and the most abundant copper ore. This on is beautiful with brassy chalcopyrite crystals and fluorite cubes that look almost regal. It is likely to be from the Carn Brea area.

cornwall museum and art gallery blister copper dolcoath camborne

Blister Copper is formed as Copper cools and solidifies after smelting. In the process, pockets of escaping sulphur dioxide gases form these blister-like bumps, giving blister copper its name.

Bronze Age Oak Shovel

Minerals used to create mobile phones

Rose coloured Quartz and Calcite. Quartz is the crystalline form of silicon dioxide, while calcite is a calcium carbonate.

Iron Pyrite, 'Fools Gold' from St Agnes extracted during the 19th Century. Despite its nickname, it is much lighter and more brittle than actual gold.

Quartz specimens, ‘doubly terminated’ which means they have two naturally faceted and pointed ends, found at Dolcoath mine in Camborne.

Quartz, with chalcopyrite, arsenopyrite and iron pyrite, part of the Philip Rashleigh Collection, found at Seal Hole Mine, St Agnes.

Stalactital geothite from Botallack Mine, St Just - an iron oxyhydroxide, made up of iron, oxygen, and hydrogen.

Minerals used to create mobile phones

Quartz is a crystalline mineral composed of silicon dioxide, this fabulous example was believed to be found in Lambshouse Quarry, near Tintagel.

Meet Galena, a lead sulphide and the leading ore of silver. It is found in hydrothermal veins, this specimen was from Besore, Kenwyn.

A small but striking specimen of Cassiterite (a tin oxide) was found at Luxulyan, near St Austell. Cassiterite has been a predominant source of tin across the globe for thousands of years.

This specimen of white (milky) quartz crystal was believed to be found in Lanreath. Its cloudiness comes from inclusions of fluids that have been enclosed inside the crystal as it formed.

Cuprite, a red copper ore. Cuprite's crystals can range in colour from bright ruby red to nearly black.

This beautiful specimen of Azurite-Malachite combines the beautiful deep blue of Azurite with the light greens of Malachite.

Gold nugget from Carnon River

Blister Copper is formed as Copper cools and solidifies after smelting. In the process, pockets of escaping sulphur dioxide gases form these blister-like bumps, giving blister copper its name.

Bronze Age Oak Shovel

Minerals used to create mobile phones

Treasures of Cornwall: From past to future

The Mineral Gallery is important, not just because of the collections of unique and beautiful minerals, but also because the gallery and collection helps with understanding Cornish mining and the role it continues to play in Cornwall.

“Minerals are the building blocks of the earth, with the unique geology and minerals of Cornwall having shaped the history of this region. We probably don’t think about minerals very much and yet everything we do, every day relies on minerals. Humans do two things – we grow plants and nurture animals, and every other material we use comes from the minerals in the earth. Phones, gadgets, high-tech renewable energy devices, cars, trains, machinery – all rely on minerals, so we should care about them very much.”

Professor Frances Wall
Professor of Applied Mineralogy at the Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter

Explore Stories from the Gallery

Cornwall and Mining

Mining has been taking place in Cornwall for more than 3,500 years. Radiocarbon dating in 2024 of an antler pick and wooden shovel from the museum’s collection and on display in the Mineral Gallery indicated that they are from the British Bronze Age (2400-800 BC).

cornwall museum and art gallery bronze age oak shovel

Bronze Age Mining in Cornwall

In 2023, an Oak Shovel and Antler Pick from the Cornwall Museum and Art Gallery collections were sent for carbon dating. Both remarkable artefacts had been found in Carnon Valley when alluvial tin streamworks were being reworked in the nineteenth century. The research indicates both artefacts are from the British Bronze Age.

Rashleigh and the Mineral Collection

The Mineral Gallery Collection came to be through a number of donations from 1893 onwards. The acquisition of the Philip Rashleigh collection in 1903 comprised 3,000 specimens, complete with his detailed catalogues and correspondences and brought important specimens into the museum’s care.

cornwall museum and art gallery photographic collection dolcoath mine cambourne

Stories from the Mines

Mining played a prominent role in how Cornwall was shaped, providing employment, impacting culture, food, knowledge and identity. It's a critical factor in understanding who the people of Cornwall were and how they lived. Stories from the mine share voices from past and present of the lives of miners underground and the communities they formed.