ABOUT US.
USEFUL LINKS.
INFORMATION, TERMS & CONDITIONS.
MOUNTAIN SPHERE MINERALS
About Us…
My name is James Hutchins, and I have founded Mountain Sphere Minerals, based in North Wales.
My interest in minerals has grown gradually since around the year 2000, when I found a small quartz cluster while hiking near Cyrn Las cliff on Snowdon in Snowdonia, Wales, UK.
My interests in hiking, mountaineering, caving, and mine exploring have gradually piqued my curiosity about minerals, since I inevitably came across them during these activities. At first my interest was limited to souvenirs, and I had no real knowledge of what I was finding. Over 22 years I collected around 15 specimens only.
But in September 2022 I found a beautiful specimen that inspired me to learn more about minerals and start a serious collection.
Since 2022 my collection has grown from a hand full to around 400 specimens in just three years.
As any serious collector knows, it becomes an addiction — you inevitably end up with excess stock and a desire to improve your collection.
I am continuing to improve my collection and to educate myself about mineral species, their formation, and basic geological context. My interest and learning have now become a passion and have driven me to share these beautiful creations with others.
So Now…
I have created this website to offer collectors mineral specimens that are both interesting and inspiring.
I aim to provide a diverse range of specimens to satisfy collectors’ needs, with a variety of species and localities, all selected for good aesthetics and quality. Our mineral specimens will make a worthy addition to your collection, whether you are an established collector or new to the world of mineral collecting.
I believe collecting mineral specimens plays an important and crucial role in preserving the history of mining and minerals, and it also honours the legacy of the miners who worked so hard to recover these beautiful pieces from the darkness. Collecting also draws to our attention—through study—to how essential minerals are to life, civilisation, industry, and technology.
The Website has a selected range of Specimens from my Stock. I have much more Stock available than what is on the Website, If you don’t see what you are looking for then feel free to contact me with enquiries via Phone or Email, I will be happy to help.
Also- See SERVICES.
Currently I exhibit at only a few of the smaller Shows (see Home page for Schedule). But I have ambition to expand and exhibit at more and larger shows in the future.
I hope you enjoy browsing my Website and find something that inspires you.
Regards
James.
Useful Links-
Information-
Mindat (Mineral Database)- www.mindat.org
Mineralogical Society of America (A-Z Handbook of Mineralogy)- www.handbookofmineralogy.org/pdf
British Geological Survey- www.bgs.ac.uk
Suppliers of Geological and Mineralogical Equipment-
Northern Geological Supplies- www.geologysuperstore.com
UK Fossils- www.ukfossils.com
Mineral Specimen Suppliers and Auctions-
Steetley Minerals- www.steetleyminerals.com
Stainton Gems- www.staintongems.co.uk
Crystal Classics- www.crystalclassics.co.uk
Agate Bands- www.agatebands.co.uk
e-Rocks Mineral Auctions- www.e-rocks.com
Weinrich Minerals Auction- www.auction.danweinrich.com
Information & Terms and Conditions-
Acceptance of Terms & Conditions-
By using this Website and Online shop (www.mountainsphereminerals.uk) it is deemed you accept the Terms & Conditions of using this site which take effect immediately on your first use of the site. Mountain Sphere Minerals reserves the right to change these Terms and Conditions at any time by publishing changes on this web site.
Copyright-
All graphics, design, text, logo and the name/title MOUNTAIN SPHERE MINERALS © 2026 on this site remains the intellectual property of Mountain Sphere Minerals. It is forbidden to reproduce or electronically copy any portions of this site without written permission. However if you wish to use an image, please contact me and I will be happy to give written permission via Email after discussing the proposed usage of the data.
Privacy Policy-
Any information held by Mountain Sphere Minerals will not be shared with any other company or individual without obtaining prior consent from yourself. As credit cards are processed by Paypal’s secure site, we do not hold any financial details about yourselves.
We use the data you supply us with in order to process orders at your request, and we only collect data that is necessary to do this. Where consent is obtained lawfully and wilfully, we also capture your data to share with you information about our products or services. You can opt out of this at any time by contacting us via email- mountainsphereminerals@gmail.com.You may also contact us by email to request information about the data we hold on you (for example, what data we hold, or how do we control it), and take further steps to control our processing or deletion of this data
Minerals For Sale-
Minerals for sale on this website are wholly owned by Mountain Sphere Minerals.uk. Minerals owned by Mountain Sphere minerals.uk are sold in GBP £.
Ordering Specimens-
The procedure to order Specimens is as follows-
Click the ‘add to cart’ button for any Specimen you wish to buy and the site will take you through the ordering procedure. Online payment can be made via all main credit/debit cards and Paypal.
If you have any questions regarding a Specimen or Product please email or phone us.
Photographs-
Whilst we endeavour to make the Specimen photographs as realistic as possible, please be aware that colours are sometimes difficult to accurately reproduce and possibly can change over time. The colour of some species appears different in artificial light compared to daylight and also due to camera or browser settings.
Please also note that the photographs are not to scale, but Sizes are given in Item description.
SPECIMEN SIZE DEFINITION-
Each specimen is assigned a size category based on the way the mineral would be displayed in a collection. The size category is determined by the length of the longest dimension.
Size Category Centimetres Inches
Micromount < 1.00 cm < ⅜”
Thumbnail 1 - 3 cm ⅜” to 1⅛"
Miniature 3 - 6 cm 1⅛” to 2½"
Small Cabinet 6 - 10 cm 2½ to 4"
Large Cabinet. 10 - 30 cm 4” to12”
Museum Size > 30 cm > 12”
Priority-
All items are sold on a first come – first served basis. If there is a conflict between customers on one item, the person from whom we first received the order will receive the item.
Shipping the order-
We shall normally ship within 3 working days except in unusual situations such as when we are traveling or attending shows.
All UK deliveries, unless specified otherwise, are sent using Royal Mail’s 48hr tracked and signed for service.
UK- Up to and including 1kg= £5.50, 2kg= £8.50, 10kg= £12.00, 20kg= £18.00.
For overseas customers, shipment is via Royal Mail International Tracked 3-7 days..
REST OF WORLD- Up to and including 1kg= £25.00, 2kg= £35.00, 5kg= £55.00, 20kg= £100.00.
Customs/Duty Fees- It is the customer's responsibility to pay all associated custom charges, duty fees and sales taxes, for items purchased and posted/shipped outside of the UK.
Returns Policy-
All customers are entitled to a 30-calendar-day grace period from receipt of their purchase to view the specimen(s) in person and decide whether to keep them.
We appreciate that it can be difficult to assess a specimen from a photograph, however accurate the photo may be.
Therefore, if you decide within 30 days of receipt that the specimen(s) are not for you and wish to return them, we will refund your payment less postage and insurance where appropriate, provided the specimen(s) are returned in the same condition in which they were sent (undamaged and unaltered, e.g., not trimmed). You are responsible for the postage/shipping costs to return the item to us.
If you are unhappy with your purchase and wish to return the specimen(s), please follow the steps below:
Please contact Mountain Sphere Minerals immediately (within the 30 days grace period from the receipt of your purchase) in writing or via email, of your intent to return the item. You are also welcome to contact us by phone, but we will require written confirmation to follow.
PLEASE NOTE THAT IF WE DO NOT RECEIVE WRITTEN NOTIFICATION OF YOUR INTENTION TO RETURN THE SPECIMEN WITHIN THE 30 DAY GRACE PERIOD, WE WILL BE UNABLE TO ACCEPT THE RETURN.
Return the specimen to us in its original condition following the instructions below. The specimen must arrive at Mountain Sphere Minerals’ address within 7 calendar days of notifying us of its return. This means you must post the item to us immediately upon notification of return.
International customers wishing to return specimens may have a longer period allowed for postage depending on their location. This will be decided upon the notification of intent to return.
Carefully wrap the specimen(s) individually using the original packing material, and include any labels or documentation. There should be at least 3cm of padding around each item.
Place specimen(s) in the postage box, or a new box if the original box was in any way damaged during transit, with at least 5cm of padding between the specimen/s and the sides of the postage box. Bubblewrap or scrunched newspaper are the best to use as padding. There should be no possible movement within the box once packed.
Please insure the package for the full value of the specimen(s) being returned; as you are responsible for the full value of the items should they be lost or damaged during return transit.
PLEASE PRINT ON THE CUSTOMS DECLARATION FORM THAT YOU ARE RETURNING THE SPECIMEN TO ITS ORIGINAL OWNER, in order for us to avoid unnecessary delays in receiving the return specimen(s), and customs fees.
Please contact us via Phone or Email for our full POSTAGE ADDRESS.
For books and magazines there is a no-return policy. However should a book or magazine be damaged in transit then please email- mountainsphereminerals@gmail.com with a picture of the damaged item.
Damaged items-
If your specimen was received damaged in transit or for other discrepancies please contact us within 7 days via- Phone +44(0) 7906 527 069 or Email at-mountainsphereminerals@gmail.com
We will then be able to come to an arrangement with you for either:
the return of the item and a full refund;
return of the item and a similar item to be sent to you as a replacement;
or a discount on the damaged item if you wish to keep it.
Please note that we require photographic evidence of the damaged specimen(s) and the box it/they were shipped in. Please Email the photographs to-mountainsphereminerals@gmail.com
If you are returning the item please return all pieces of damaged or broken specimen with any labels and documentation, and the original packaging- Follow the steps in the Returns Policy.
Please remember to insure the item to the full cost of the specimen(s) and post to the return address.
Health Considerations-
Minerals should be handled carefully as they may be harmful and may contain toxic elements and/or heavy metals. Always wash your hands after handling minerals and never inhale or ingest mineral dust.
Links-
Mountain Sphere Minerals is not responsible for the content of external web sites linked to or from this site.