Foxdale Mines

IoM's richest SILVER-bearing mines. The Foxdale lodes were extraordinary — galena here contained up to 400 ounces of silver per ton of lead (11,160 ppm), making it among the most silver-rich lead ore in the British Isles. The rare mineral tetrahedrite (rich in silver) was also found here. Veins pass from the Manx Group sedimentary rocks downward into granite at depth — the Oatlands granite intrusion is the heat source that drove mineralisation. WHY COLLECT HERE: The mine dumps at Foxdale are the BEST mineral collecting site on IoM. Specimens include: galena (exceptionally silver-rich), sphalerite, tetrahedrite (rare — grey metallic), quartz crystals, fluorite (purple/green), baryte (heavy white), calcite, and dolomite. The streams draining the mine area also carry washed-out specimens. Access is straightforward via public paths. Some dumps are quite large and barely picked over. Best finds are in recently eroded faces where fresh material is exposed.