I know nothing about the locality but the white rock might have been a
mixture of sericite and kaolinite which is a common hydrothermal alteration
product in the immediate wall rock around some veins. Perhaps the white rock
was attempted to be used in the Potteries.
Peter Siems.
> Sometime ago I tried to establish what the 'gout' could have been
> which John Lawrence dug at Bog Mine Shropshire in 1760. It was very
> white which was expected to give problems that would result in the
> material being returned from the customer. BGS Bulletin 14, The West
> Shropshire Mining Region of 1958 refers to Bog's Whitstone vein
> where dyke material has been secicitized by contact with vein
> material to form a friable white rock locally called White Rock or
> Whitestone. Does anyone know whether this material had any useful
> contents or properties which would have justified mining it in 1760?
> Mike Shaw
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