Mineral Gallery 1
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AM5-03
Amethyst $450
ex L. St-Cyr
Jacksons Crossroads, Wilkes Co., Georgia
10 cm x 7 cm x 6 cm
This
one is the biggest and the most perfect; it was the one I chose for
my collection when they first came out. The tips are perfect (a
single termination on the top and 6 parallel terminations at the bottom
which are only really visible in the last photo), and it is nearly a
floater. Typically for Jacksons Crossroads Amethyst, it is
a bit on the "elestial" side and shows surfaces that absorbed
surrounding material on the backside. It has that nice
grape-purple color that distinguishes the Jacksons Crossroads Amethyst
from any other location, with a few smoky highlights. The
photos do not do it justice, but if you click on the photos to see the
big versions, they're better.
click on
images for larger views
click on images
for larger views
AM5-02 Amethyst
$295
Jacksons Crossroads, Wilkes Co., Georgia
8.6 cm x 5.6 cm x 4.0 cm
This one is smaller than the one above, but has the most striking color on the front face (upper left photo). The backside (upper right photo) is rougher than the specimen above. The two lateral faces are shown in the lower left and right photos.
click
on images for larger views
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on images for larger views
AM5-30 Amethyst
$375
Jacksons Crossroads, Wilkes Co., Georgia
8.7 cm x 4.5 cm x 4.4 cm
This
one is the smallest, but has the most interesting form, that of six
parallel crystals. The front (upper left photo) is very attractive
and the back (lower left photo) is almost as good. The 6 tips
on the top (upper right photo) are perfect; the bottom terminations
are flatter, and are good until you reach the lower crystal, which is
the former surface of attachment. The upper lateral face
is well-formed (lower right photo).
click on left
image for larger view
DAT9-1 Datolite with Interference Quartz $98 SOLD
Bor
Pit, Dal'negorsk, Primorskiy Kray, Russia
8.0 cm x 5.3 cm x 4.5 cm
A half-dozen mint-green, lustrous Datolite (CaB[OH|SiO4]) crystals are cemented together by Quartz (SiO2). Some of the Quartz is of the "interference" type, which looks like a stack of plates (2 photos at right). Interference Quartz appears to have met with interference as it grew, causing it to be separated perpendicular to what is usually the long axis (the c-axis). Whatever caused the interference apparently dissolved later.
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for larger views
MORD5-3 Mordenite on Amethyst $295 SOLD
Jalgaon
District, Maharashtra, India
17 cm x 14 cm x 10 cm
A vug shaped like a thick hourglass, open on both ends, is coated inside with Amethyst and Mordenite (Na2,Ca,K2)Al2Si10O24·7H2O. Looking into the left end of the top photo, you would see the view shown in the middle photo, and looking into the right end of the top photo you would see the view shown in the bottom photo.
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WULF10-1 Wulfenite and Hydrozincite $40
Mobile
Mine, Goodsprings District, Clark Co., Nevada
7.1 cm x 4.5 cm x 3.0 cm
A recent find of Wulfenite (Pb[MoO4) from a copper mine southwest of Las Vegas. This specimen has a few good, thin, butterscotch-colored crystals up to a 1-cm edge, and a crust of white Hydrozincite (Zn5[(OH)3|CO3]2) that fluoresces blue-white under LWUV & SWUV and phosphoresces under SWUV.
click on images
for larger views
large crystal
is 5 mm on edge
crystal is 5 mm on top edge
WULF10-2 Wulfenite $50
Mobile
Mine, Goodsprings District, Clark Co., Nevada
7.2 cm x 6.3 cm x 3.0 cm
The Wulfenite on this specimen displays a completely different habit, the crystals being truncated dipyramids of clear orange, as in the lower left close-up. The lower-right close-up looks like a sandwich of 3 intergrown crystals.
click on image
for larger view
WULF10-3 Wulfenite $55
Mobile
Mine, Goodsprings District, Clark Co., Nevada
3.6 cm x 2.5 cm x 2.2 cm
This specimen is loaded with thin, butterscotch-colored crystals up to a 1-cm edge.
click
on images for larger view FOV= 20
mm x 19 mm
FOV=
20 mm x 16 mm click
on images for larger view FOV=
20 mm x 18 mm
SPHL9-1 Sphalerite, Quartz and Pyrite $58
Herja Mine, Baia Mare, Maramures, Romania
8.1 x 6 x 3.3 cm; Sphalerite crystal = 3.2 x 2.5 x 2 cm
An aesthetic assemblage of Sphalerite ((Zn,Fe2+)S), Quartz (SiO2) and Pyrite (FeS2). While the large, sharp Sphalerite obviously dominates the piece, a closer look shows that the forest of Quartz sports some interesting sceptered crystals. Four out of five of the Sphalerite's sides are complete; the fifth side is partially terminated and partially contacted (along right edge of the piece as viewed in the upper left photo). The larger image shows the extraordinary triangular faces and striations on the Sphalerite quite well.
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on images for larger view
BAR5-31 Barite $38
Riu Bachera mine, Nuxis, Carbonia-Iglesias Province, Sardinia, Italy
7.8 x 4.1 x 2.2 cm; largest crystal = 2.4 x 1.6 x 1.1 cm
This pretty Barite (BaSO4) stands on its own, and I think it resembles a stegosaurus!
click on image
for larger view
RUT10-1 Rutile Epitaxial on Hematite with Albite $125 SOLD
Novo
Horizonte, Bahia, Northeast Region, Brazil
5.7 cm x 3.5 cm x 3.3 cm
A few years ago, there appeared some stunning matrix specimens of Rutile
growing epitaxially on Hematite. They were priced in the tens of thousands,
alas. So I was delighted to see an affordable miniature version
this year at Tucson. Then to my surprise, as I was measuring this
specimen for the website posting, I spotted a dozen small, transparent
and colorless crystals (for example, see bottom photo) on the matrix
as well - they turned out to be polysynthetically twinned Albite, very
unusual-looking crystals.
click
on images for larger view FOV= 4
mm x 3 mm
TYR6-1 Tyrolite $42 SOLD
Molvizar, Granada, Andalusia, Spain
4.5 x 4 x 2.5 cm
Tyrolite
(Ca2Cu9[(OH)4|(H2O)11|CO3|(AsO4)4]
· 0-1H2O) in beautiful sprays of turquoise-green richly
cover the matrix of this specimen. An interesting and different
locality.
click on images
for larger views
FOV
= 5 x 4 mm
TQ10-1 Turquoise Crystals $35 SOLD
Vielsalm, Stavelot Massif, Luxembourg Province, Belgium
4.8 cm x 2.9 cm x 2.0 cm
Vielsalm is one of very few localities where one can find Turquoise (Cu(Al,Fe3+)6[(OH)4|(PO4)2]2· 4H2O) in crystal form. The close-up photo shows balls of Turquoise crystals. They are naked-eye visible, but more fun with a microscope or loupe.
click on images
for larger views
FOV
= 4 x 4 mm
TQ10-2 Turquoise Crystals with Chlorite $25 SOLD
Vielsalm, Stavelot Massif, Luxembourg Province, Belgium
4.5 cm x 2.5 cm x 1.6 cm
Vielsalm is one of very few localities where one can find Turquoise (Cu(Al,Fe3+)6[(OH)4|(PO4)2]2· 4H2O) in crystal form. The close-up photo shows balls of Turquoise crystals. They are naked-eye visible, but more fun with a microscope or loupe. This particular specimen has a lot of Chlorite and Mica group minerals in association with the Turquoise.
click
on images for larger view FOV= 10
mm x 8 mm
SOLQ5-3 Solution Quartz with Multiple Terminations $38 SOLD
Jeffrey Quarry, Pulaski Co., Arkansas
4.1 x 3.7 x 2.3 cm
I
have wondered for a long time why these particular floater clusters
of bright quartz are called "solution quartz". I
just found a likely explanation from one of Dr. Rob Lavinsky's postings
on MinDat. He says that since they did not form on matrix, they
apparently formed while floating in the solution. (As my
son would say, "Duh!") Also, something else I didn't
know is that they were collected by divers. But to me, the
most special aspect of Jeffrey Quarry solution quartz is the way a single
crystal splits into multiple terminations, as shown in the close-up
on the right.
News flash! More information from Arkansas dealer Chris Wright: "Solution
quartz was formed in a gel of cookeite, rectorite and silica.
No attachments at all except for some exceptions. Scuba diving
wasn't necessary until the end of production and flooding of the quarry.
It was even pumped dry several times." Thanks, Chris!
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on images for larger view
BNN5-3 Bournonite, Sphalerite & Chalcopyrite $55
Baia Sprie (Felsöbánya), Maramures Co., Romania
6.2 x 5.2 x 2.2 cm
The dark triangles are Sphalerites ((Zn,Fe2+)S), the golden triangles are Chalcopyrites (CuFeS2), and the dark "tree stumps" are Bournonites (PbCuSbS3) with a slight expression of the classic cogwheel form. There is a label from the Benjamin Ackerman collection that comes with this piece, and identifies Felsöbánya as being in Hungary, which set me off on an investigation. Apparently that territory belonged to Hungary until 1920, then again in 1940-1944. One might infer that either this is an old piece, or it belonged to a very nationalistic Hungarian. In any case, it is a fine assemblage of sulfides from a classic, now-Romanian location.
click on image
for larger view
DOL5-2 Cobaltoan Dolomite with Malachite $58
Kolwezi, Western area, Katanga Copper Crescent, Katanga, Democratic Republic of Congo
6 cm x 5 cm x 3 cm
Green fibrous-looking Malachite (Cu2[(OH)2|CO3]) on hot pink, sparkling Cobaltoan Dolomite ((Ca,Mg,Co)CO3). A vibrant contrast of colors that is very eye-catching.
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