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Kingswood Mine, West Buckfastleigh, Teignbridge, Devon, England, UKi
Regional Level Types
Kingswood MineMine
West BuckfastleighCivil Parish
TeignbridgeDistrict
DevonCounty
EnglandConstituent Country
UKCountry

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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
50° 28' 59'' North , 3° 48' 51'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
UK National Grid Reference:
SX713665
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
PlacePopulationDistance
Buckfastleigh3,631 (2018)2.5km
Ashburton3,346 (2018)5.5km
South Brent2,559 (2018)6.5km
Dartington876 (2018)8.6km
Broadhempston672 (2018)8.8km
Nearest Clubs:
Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
ClubLocationDistance
British Micromount Society, Devon and Cornwall Branch MeetingsLiskeard, Cornwall46km
Mindat Locality ID:
1516
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:1516:8
GUID (UUID V4):
0


The Bowerdon adit was driven in 1918-20 with pitchblende being reported. It has very high levels of radon within and should not be entered.
The background radiation level in the area is about 12 counts/sec. In the valley at the adit entrance, this rises to 25 c/s, and 50 c/s in the first metre of the adit. In the chamber containing the pitchblende, the counts exceed 2000 per second.
There is pitchblende in both the wall and roof at this point which shows as black areas with yellow secondaries on the surface. There are also green copper(?) secondaries in very small quantities and an area of degraded pyrite.
A sketch plan of the adit is included in the site photos section as well as a numbered sequence of photos so there really is no reason to go into this adit. A K Hamilton Jenkin records the crosscut at 27 fathoms from the adit portal, my own estimate was 50m which agrees very closely. However, Hamilton Jenkin then records the adit driven a further 21 fathoms to the location of the pitchblende lode but makes no mention of the adit being driven beyond that point. My own estimate would agree with a further drive of 21 fathoms but that is to the extent of the adit, the pitchblende lode occurring at about 15 fathoms. I wore a full face shield, filtered breathing apparatus, disposable oversuit and double layered disposable gloves and I made no attempt to extract minerals from the walls of the mine for fear of creating radioactive dust.
Pitchblende was collected from the dumps at the adit entrance with counts >1000/s at 30 cm.

Select Mineral List Type

Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

Mineral List


11 valid minerals.

Detailed Mineral List:

ⓘ Arsenolite
Formula: As2O3
ⓘ Chalcopyrite
Formula: CuFeS2
ⓘ Cobaltite
Formula: CoAsS
ⓘ Coffinite
Formula: U(SiO4) · nH2O
ⓘ Erythrite
Formula: Co3(AsO4)2 · 8H2O
ⓘ Galena
Formula: PbS
ⓘ Native Bismuth
Formula: Bi
ⓘ Quartz
Formula: SiO2
Habit: poorly formed.
Colour: Black
Description: Collected Dec. 2003
ⓘ Rammelsbergite
Formula: NiAs2
ⓘ Sabugalite ?
Formula: HAl(UO2)4(PO4)4 · 16H2O
ⓘ 'Sooty Uraninite'
ⓘ Uraninite
Formula: UO2
Habit: Massive, crumbly masses
Colour: Black
Description: Samples collected Dec 2003 with counts > 1000/sec.
ⓘ Uraninite var. Pitchblende
Formula: UO2
Habit: Massive, crumbly masses
Colour: Black
Description: Samples collected Dec 2003 with counts > 1000/sec.

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

Group 1 - Elements
ⓘNative Bismuth1.CA.05Bi
Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts
ⓘChalcopyrite2.CB.10aCuFeS2
ⓘGalena2.CD.10PbS
ⓘRammelsbergite2.EB.15aNiAs2
ⓘCobaltite2.EB.25CoAsS
Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides
ⓘArsenolite4.CB.50As2O3
ⓘQuartz4.DA.05SiO2
ⓘUraninite
var. Pitchblende
4.DL.05UO2
ⓘ4.DL.05UO2
Group 8 - Phosphates, Arsenates and Vanadates
ⓘErythrite8.CE.40Co3(AsO4)2 · 8H2O
ⓘSabugalite ?8.EB.55HAl(UO2)4(PO4)4 · 16H2O
Group 9 - Silicates
ⓘCoffinite9.AD.30U(SiO4) · nH2O
Unclassified
ⓘ'Sooty Uraninite'-

List of minerals for each chemical element

HHydrogen
Hⓘ CoffiniteU(SiO4) · nH2O
Hⓘ ErythriteCo3(AsO4)2 · 8H2O
Hⓘ SabugaliteHAl(UO2)4(PO4)4 · 16H2O
OOxygen
Oⓘ ArsenoliteAs2O3
Oⓘ CoffiniteU(SiO4) · nH2O
Oⓘ ErythriteCo3(AsO4)2 · 8H2O
Oⓘ Uraninite var. PitchblendeUO2
Oⓘ QuartzSiO2
Oⓘ SabugaliteHAl(UO2)4(PO4)4 · 16H2O
Oⓘ UraniniteUO2
AlAluminium
Alⓘ SabugaliteHAl(UO2)4(PO4)4 · 16H2O
SiSilicon
Siⓘ CoffiniteU(SiO4) · nH2O
Siⓘ QuartzSiO2
PPhosphorus
Pⓘ SabugaliteHAl(UO2)4(PO4)4 · 16H2O
SSulfur
Sⓘ ChalcopyriteCuFeS2
Sⓘ CobaltiteCoAsS
Sⓘ GalenaPbS
FeIron
Feⓘ ChalcopyriteCuFeS2
CoCobalt
Coⓘ CobaltiteCoAsS
Coⓘ ErythriteCo3(AsO4)2 · 8H2O
NiNickel
Niⓘ RammelsbergiteNiAs2
CuCopper
Cuⓘ ChalcopyriteCuFeS2
AsArsenic
Asⓘ ArsenoliteAs2O3
Asⓘ CobaltiteCoAsS
Asⓘ ErythriteCo3(AsO4)2 · 8H2O
Asⓘ RammelsbergiteNiAs2
PbLead
Pbⓘ GalenaPbS
BiBismuth
Biⓘ Native BismuthBi
UUranium
Uⓘ CoffiniteU(SiO4) · nH2O
Uⓘ Uraninite var. PitchblendeUO2
Uⓘ SabugaliteHAl(UO2)4(PO4)4 · 16H2O
Uⓘ UraniniteUO2

Mindat Articles

Journeys with my Geiger counter. Number 1 by Virginia Maine
King’s Wood Adit, Buckfastleigh, Devon. by Virginia Maine


Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

British and Irish IslesGroup of Islands
Eurasian PlateTectonic Plate
EuropeContinent
UK

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