Celestine

Department of Earth Sciences’ Geology Museum

Celestine

A naturally-occurring sulphate of strontium, celestine is a particularly heavy mineral. It typically occurs in sedimentary rocks, in association with other minerals that were deposited by evaporation of trapped lakes of seawater. This specimen is from the Triassic mudstones near Yate and Chipping Sodbury in South Gloucestershire. First dug in the late 1880s, using pick and shovel, much of it went to Germany for use in extracting sugar from sugar beet. Later uses included flares and fireworks (strontium gives flames a vivid red colour), as well as filler for paint, rubber and plastics; excavation ceased in the 1970s.

  • Item reference: BRSUG B1311
  • Photographer: Simon Powell
  • Copyright: Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol
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