Our mineral collection
The mineralogical collection includes over 5000 exquisite examples of gemstones, ores and beautiful crystals from UK and international localities. The majority was collected by scientists, collectors or mineral dealers in the 18th and 19th century from mines and quarries long since closed.
Explore our collection
Download a user-friendly version of our mineral catalogue (PDF, 1,143kB).
The mineral collection covers some of the main historic mining areas in the UK. The majority of the samples were collected and donated in the first half of the 20th century. Main collectors include Prof. F. C. Phillips, Prof. D. Dineley, L. L. Fermor, C. Alabaster and C. E. Leese.
You can find out more about a project linked to our gem stone collections from India, Myanmar and Burma here on our blog.