Mineral Gallery 3
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MORD5-1 Mordenite on Amethyst $225
Jalgaon District, Maharashtra, India
10.5 cm x 12.5 cm x 7.7 cm
Two large snowballs of Mordenite sit on a piece of pale Amethyst.
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AZ10-10 Azurite on Kaolinite Siltstone $70
Malbunka Copper Mine, Areyonga, Alice Springs, Gardiner Range, Northern Territory, Australia
7.1 cm x 5.0 cm x 3.5 cm
A large single disk with intact edges on tan siltstone. Azurite (Cu3[OH|CO3]2) likes to form concretions, as in the famous geodes from the Blueball Mine in Arizona and many other localities. In this case, however, the concretion was forced to grow in a flattened manner due to the layering of Kaolinite (Al2Si2O5(OH)4) siltstone, producing an Azurite unlike any found elsewhere in the world.
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AZ10-1 Azurite on Kaolinite Siltstone $68 SOLD
Malbunka Copper Mine, Areyonga, Alice Springs, Gardiner Range, Northern Territory, Australia
7.5 cm x 6.5 cm x 2.6 cm
A more randomized version for people who like their world to have a little unpredictability.
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AZ10-6 Azurite on Kaolinite Siltstone $55 SOLD
Malbunka Copper Mine, Areyonga, Alice Springs, Gardiner Range, Northern Territory, Australia
7.2 cm x 4.9 cm x 3.8 cm
Another spotted one, with plenty of good blue color.
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QNZ10-1 Quartz $22
Coromandel Peninsula, Waikato, North Island, New Zealand
3.5 cm x 1.6 cm x 1.5 cm
Another complex Quartz specimen from the North Island of New Zealand. It has a fat main Quartz crystal coated with secondary growth of dozens of smaller crystals, and all are completely milky (no phantoms, unlike the one above). Again, 3 of the 6 faces predominate so much that the remaining three have almost disappeared, as is visible in the photo.
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QW10-03a Quartz $135
Eric's Hole, Winnemucca District, Humboldt County, Nevada
12.0 cm x 10.0 cm x 9.1 cm
Q10-03a is a large piece, especially for Winnemucca, displaying an interesting, slightly smoky shade with possibly a hint of Amethyst. It comes with an uncleaned Quartz specimen (Q10-03b in photo below) as an educational display. The coating on the cleaned Quartz specimen was removed by 1) soaking in water for a month, 2) using a water gun, 3) soaking in an acid bath and finally 4) bead blasting!
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QW10-03b Quartz $0 (free with QW10-03a)
Eric's Hole, Winnemucca District, Humboldt County, Nevada
4.1 cm x 3.2 cm x 2.4 cm
The uncleaned Quartz is a free companion piece to the cleaned Quartz. It shows how much work may need to be done to make a specimen suitable for display, something that is not often appreciated by the general public, and can start some interesting discussions about mineral collecting.
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QW10-04a Quartz $135
Eric's Hole, Winnemucca District, Humboldt County, Nevada
12.5 cm x 10.5 cm x 9 cm
This large piece displays an interesting, smoky shade with possibly a hint of Amethyst. It comes with an uncleaned Quartz specimen (Q10-04b in photo below) as an educational display. The coating on the cleaned Quartz specimen was removed by 1) soaking in water for a month, 2) using a water gun, 3) soaking in an acid bath and finally 4) bead blasting!
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QW10-04b Quartz $0 (free with QW10-04a)
Eric's Hole, Winnemucca District, Humboldt County, Nevada
5.2 cm x 3.3 cm x 3.2 cm
The uncleaned Quartz is a free companion piece to the cleaned Quartz. It shows how much work may need to be done to make a specimen suitable for display, something that is not often appreciated by the general public, and can start some interesting discussions about mineral collecting.
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NAH9-02 Nahcolite $38
Searles Lake, San Bernardino County, California
15 cm x 11 cm x 8 cm
Nahcolite is one of those minerals whose name spells its composition: NaHCO3, sort of a mineralogical joke. It is an evaporate, formed by the drying out of solution containing dissolved minerals. In this case, the drying apparently took place in an environment where the mineral solution could drip along stalactites and hence formed these exquisite "Nahcol-icicles". Under SWUV light, it fluoresces and phosphoresces white-yellow. Under LWUV light, it fluoresces more of a yellow color, but much more weakly and with no phosphorescence.
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TF5-32 Smithsonite var. Turkey Fat with Greenockite inclusions $25
Monte Cristo Mine, Rush, Marion County, Arkansas
3.2 cm x 1.8 cm x 1.9 cm
This specimen consists of botryoidal Smithsonite with a darker brown outer layer. The botryoidal shape of the Smithsonite plus the yellow-brown color resembled turkey fat, hence the colorful varietal name. The "Turkey Fat" specimens that are not pseudomorphs of Dolomite seem to be a bit less common than the pseudomorphs. A good thumbnail of an American classic.
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TF5-50 Smithsonite var. Turkey Fat with Greenockite inclusions $20
Monte Cristo Mine, Rush, Marion County, Arkansas
3.2 cm x 1.9 cm x 0.9 cm
This specimen consists of botryoidal Smithsonite with a good yellow color. The "Turkey Fat" specimens that are not pseudomorphs of Dolomite seem to be a bit less common than the pseudomorphs.
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