Mineral shop owner guilty of damaging protected 400-million-year-old rock site in New Cumnock with hammer

The owner of a mineral shop in Glasgow has been convicted of damaging three protected sites with a hammer as she tried to collect rare specimens to sell.

In the first conviction of it kind in Scotland, Dagmara Lesiow Lasczcewski was found guilty of three charges of causing reckless damage to Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) at Paisley Sheriff Court.

An example of Stibnite, one of the minerals illegally removed by Dagmara Lesiow Lasczcewski . | NMS

Two of the sites targeted, Fountainhead SSSI, near New Cumnock, East Ayrshire, and Talnotry Mine SSSI, near Newton Stewart in Dumfries and Galloway, are historic mining locations containing limited amounts of mineral-bearing spoil.

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Minerals removed from the Fountainhead site, where the geological component is about 400 million years old, included rare stibnite. The stibnite, which is a spectacular silvery-grey blade-shaped mineral, contains antimony - a type of semi-metal of exquisite quality not found elsewhere in Scotland.

Specimens extracted from these vulnerable sites had been broken and advertised for sale online and at Ms Lasczcewski’s shop, the Caledonian Rock Shop, in Glasgow’s Gallowgate.

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The court was shown evidence of social media posts which placed Ms Lasczcsewski at the sites showing her intent to break rocks and extract minerals using hammers. Efforts are now being made to return minerals, removed illegally from the SSSIs, to their rightful owners.

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Separate to this case, NatureScot believes up to 20 other protected mineral sites in Scotland may also be affected by damaging and exploitative mineral collecting by unknown individuals. The nature agency is working to find out the extent of this, and how these nationally important sites can be safeguarded while supporting sustainable and responsible amateur mineral collecting.

Colin MacFadyen, geological advisor with NatureScot, said he welcomed the verdict, which he expected to act as a deterrent to others.

He said: “Scotland’s internationally important mineral heritage is an irreplaceable aspect of our nature with the best and most representative locations protected as SSSIs. We support mineral collecting for research, education and recreation, provided it is done responsibly, legally and in line with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.

“However, exploitative collecting from vulnerable sites is unsustainable, especially if it is commercially driven. Rare and important minerals can become lost to science and put beyond public sight. In this case, we have seen some of Scotland’s most vulnerable and important protected mineral sites being targeted and damaged.”

Iain Batho, who leads on wildlife and environmental crime for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: “COPFS takes offences in relation to damaging SSSIs seriously and action will be taken against those who commit such offences, where there is sufficient evidence of a crime and where it is in the overall public interest to do so.”