Gallery 1
Mixed Minerals
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C-123 Calcite on Siderite pseudomorph after Calcite $55
Turt Mine, Satu Mare, Maramures, Romania
7 x 6.5 x 3 cm.
A very interesting specimen from a lesser-known Romanian mineral location. This specimen features a 2 x 2 cm. crystal of Siderite that has replaced the mineral Calcite, with many smaller sphere-shaped stacks of Siderite, upon which sit numerous clusters of Calcite exhibiting the same peculiar habit.
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M-023 Malachite $50
Liufengshan Mine, Chizhou Prefecture, Anhui Province, China
7.7 x 6 x 2.7 cm.
At first glance, this appears to be just another one of the many Malachites that the Congo produces so prolifically. In actuality, this specimen is from China, which is not known to have produced much in the way of Malachite specimens. As far as Chinese Malachites go, this specimen is about as good as they get. A neat feature of this Malachite is its dual personality; on one side you have botryoidal clusters of Malachite, while the back side is sponge-like and almost velvety in appearance.
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D-012 Siderite & Dolomite with Pyrrhotite $55
Morro Velho Mine, Nova Lima, Minas Gerais, Brazil
6 x 5 x 4 cm.
A classic mineral association from this famous locality. Although this mine is still operating on a limited basis, it is very difficult to find any decent looking specimens from this locality. Most of the best specimens, like this one, were found in the 1960's.
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C-121 Calcite $75
Campomorto
Quarry, Montalto di Castro
Viterbo Province, Latium, Italy
specimen
size = 6 x 4.5 x 5.9 cm.
crystal size = 2.1 x 2.1 x 1.8 cm.
This attractive specimen features a sphere of egg-yolk-like Calcite in a depression in a tephritic matrix. The Calcite on this specimen is a little larger than is usually found at this location. Considering how hard the matrix is, it's a wonder that any decent matrix specimens are recovered from here.
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A-047 Atacamite with Pseudomalachite $50
La Farola Mine, Copiapó Province, Atacama Region, Chile
8 x 5 x 2 cm.
Here is an example of Chile's signature mineral, Atacamite. This vividly-colored specimen features a multitude of Atacamite crystals, many of which are encrusted with the mineral Pseudomalachite. Good-looking specimens of Atacamite are increasingly harder to find these days.
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M-022 Malachite, Chrysocolla & Calcite $55
Katanga Copper Zone, Katanga, Congo
specimen
size = 5.5 x 6.7 x 4 cm.
crystal size = 2.5 x 2.5 x 2 cm.
This is one wild-looking mineral specimen, according to my wife when she saw it for the first time. This beauty features the classic Katanga matrix of Chrysocolla and Calcite upon which is perched a cluster of wedge-like Malachites. The wedges are so dense at their centers that they appear black, grading to a velvet fuzz at their tips.
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G-061 Garnet var. Grossular on Vesuvianite $100
Lake Jaco, Sierra de la Cruz, Coahuila, Mexico
4 x 4 x 4.8 cm.
When one thinks of Lake Jaco, Mexico, one usually thinks of the many colors of Grossular Garnet that have been found there. What many people don't know is that Lake Jaco has in the past also produced very fine crystals of Vesuvianite. This lustrous, “old timer” example of Vesuvianite also features a 2 x 2.5 cm. crystal of the variety of Garnet, Grossular.
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C-110 Calcite with Orpiment inclusions $135
Jiepaiyu Mine, Changde Prefecture, Hunan Province, China
6.7 x 7 x 4 cm.
Here we have a really neat and colorful included Calcite specimen. While Calcite specimens from China are rather common, very few of these Orpiment-included Calcites have appeared on the market. Most all of the Calcite crystals on this specimen are double-terminated and have an eye-pleasing lemon-yellow hue due to the inclusion of the mineral Orpiment. Good, aesthetic Calcites from this particular mine are not common as many were damaged due to poor collecting methods and careless transport. But the most spectacular thing about this specimen is the fact that when illuminated by SWUV light, it fluoresces almost the same color lemon yellow as the inclusions appear in white light.
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C-113 Cuprite with Chrysocolla $140
Mashamba West Mine, Kolwezi, Katanga, Congo
6 x 5.5 x 3 cm.
This matrix specimen of the Copper oxide mineral Cuprite is crowned by a 1.5 x 1.6 x 1.3 cm. pair of interpenetrating Cuprite crystals that have a slight metallic luster and show a hint of red near their termination. The matrix also has a coating of pale bluish Chrysocolla and a minor amount of dark green Malachite, making for a nice contrast of colors. This classic locality is no longer producing these classic Cuprite specimens.
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H-037 Heulandite with Stilbite $85
Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India
5.1 x 3 x 3.4 cm.
This salmon-colored, bowtie-shaped Heulandite is not your run-of-the-mill Indian Heulandite specimen. In addition to its pleasing color and shape, this specimen also features a well-formed, pearly Stilbite crystal protruding from the front face. The sides of this Heulandite are extremely lustrous. Of the myriad of Heulandite specimens that have spewed forth from India, a very small percentage exhibit this fine color, which is due to an unidentified mineral inclusion. This attractive specimen would brighten up anyone's suite of minerals.
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AG-014 Mimetite $360 SOLD
Ojuela Mine, Mapimí, Durango, Mexico
10 x 9 x 1.9 cm.
A large cluster of sparkly Mimetite crystals on a matrix of Limonite, ranging in color from yellow-green to yellow to yellow-orange. This specimen features rounded clusters of Mimetite measuring up to 1 cm. in size. This specimen is pristine with no damage and will add a great deal of color to anyone's mineral cabinet. Of all the colors of Mimetite, yellow is the most seldom seen and is considered the most desirable by mineral collectors. The color of this Mimetite specimen is more vivid when seen in person than is reflected in the photo.
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C-107 Copper $100
Bisbee, Warren District, Cochise County, Arizona
6.7 x 4.5 x 4.5 cm.
A chunky specimen of Copper with crude but large crystals from a classic American locality. Despite the tons of Copper ore mined at this locality, good examples of Bisbee Copper are exceedingly hard to find these days. This specimen would make a fine addition to one's suite of Arizona minerals or anyone's collection, for that matter.
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G-059 Garnet variety Andradite $30
Sinerechenskiy
Mine, Kavalerovo District
Primorskiy Kray, Russia
6.2 x 5.9 x 2.9 cm.
A plate of well-formed, densely packed, dodecahedral crystals of the variety of Garnet, Andradite. While this area of far-eastern Russia is better known for its metallic minerals, it also produces fine examples of Andradite like the one pictured here.
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P-043 Poldervaartite $200
N'Chwaning II Mine, Kalahari Mn Fields, South Africa
6.1 x 4 x 2.5 cm.
This attractive matrix specimen of the Calcium-Manganese Silicate mineral Poldervaartite features many spherical clusters up to 2.4 cm. in size. Of the five major clusters of this rare mineral, the one in the center has the deepest and best color. There is some contact on one of the clusters at the periphery on the bottom, but overall the specimen is in fine shape and presents extremely well. The Kalahari Manganese Fields of South Africa are the only location at which this mineral is found. In the last couple of years, good examples of this mineral have been hard to obtain.
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A-035 Fluorapophyllite on Quartz $40
Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India
5.8 x 5 x 4.7 cm.
What at first appears to be your run-of-the-mill Fluorapophyllite from India, is actually quite unusual. What makes this specimen so unusual is that the terminations of the Fluorapophyllite crystals are slightly inverted and also exhibit a hoppered-like crystal growth. The Fluorapophyllites also exhibit a very bright lustre.
