Lady Annabella Mine

Overview

A working fluorite specimen mine at the former Blue Circle Cement Quarry in Eastgate, Weardale, opened under its present name in July 2020 by UK Mining Ventures Ltd and named for the operator's newborn daughter, Annabella Bruce.

History

The site was first known to collectors as the Blue Circle Cement Quarry at Eastgate, which began operating in the early 1960s and became renowned among collectors for the fluorite specimens it yielded, including emerald green material alongside numerous colour variants such as yellow, yellow-violet, lilac, rose-pink and mauve. UK Mining Ventures Ltd, the same operator behind the already-published Rogerley Mine at Frosterley, took over the site and launched it as a dedicated surface specimen-mining project in July 2020, naming it Lady Annabella Mine in honour of Annabella Bruce, the newborn daughter of the company's Ian and Diana Bruce. The mine works three named mineralised structures: the Bull Vein, its main focus, yielding fluorite in yellows, greens and purples; the Fairy Hole Vein, some 28 metres to the south, producing transparent green fluorite; and the Wilson Vein, the southernmost of the three, known for leaf-green interpenetrant fluorite twins. Since opening, near-surface mining has recovered a diverse range of specimen-grade fluorite from multiple named mineral pockets, with active operation continuing through the summer and autumn months each year.

Geology

Three mineralised structures in the Weardale orefield: the Bull Vein, the mine's main focus, yielding fluorite in yellows, greens and purples, and the Fairy Hole Vein some 28 metres to the south, producing transparent green fluorite.

Workings

Worked as a near-surface specimen-mining operation across three named veins -- the Bull Vein, Fairy Hole Vein and Wilson Vein -- within the Great Limestone Formation.

Closure

Unknown.

What remains

An active, ongoing commercial specimen-mining operation.

The former Blue Circle Cement Quarry workings, now worked at surface for mineral specimens.

Redevelopment

Redeveloped from a disused cement quarry into a dedicated fluorite specimen-mining operation from July 2020.

Related mines

• Rogerley Mine — Both are run by the same operator, UK Mining Ventures Ltd.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• The site was first known to collectors as the Blue Circle Cement Quarry at Eastgate, operating from the early 1960s and becoming renowned for fluorite specimens including emerald green material and numerous colour variants. ^1,2
• UK Mining Ventures Ltd launched the site as a dedicated specimen-mining project in July 2020, naming it Lady Annabella Mine for Annabella Bruce, the newborn daughter of the company's Ian and Diana Bruce. ²
• The mine works three named structures: the Bull Vein (yellows, greens and purples), the Fairy Hole Vein 28 metres south (transparent green fluorite), and the southernmost Wilson Vein (leaf-green interpenetrant fluorite twins). ²
• Mindat records a site visit by Jolyon Ralph in August 2020 and lists calcite, fluorite, galena, hydrocerussite, quartz and siderite from named pockets, among them the Harvest and Layer Cake pockets on the Bull Vein and the Fairy Holes, Purple Rain and Hailstorm pockets on the Fairy Hole Vein. ³

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Fluorite Specimen Mining, Frosterley, Weardale, England — UK Mining Ventures
2. (primary) Lady Annabella Mine — UK Mining Ventures Ltd
3. (secondary) Lady Annabella Mine, Eastgate Quarry, Eastgate, Stanhope, County Durham (Mindat) — Mindat

Record created: 30 August 2026 · Last researched: 24 September 2026