FMF - Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Jordi Fabre]

As mentioned here -> http://www.mineral-forum.com/message-board/viewtopic.php?p=12033#12033 this year my columns about the show will be interactive, so this is the official start of the FMF's thread about Ste. Marie-aux-mines 2010 Show.
And remember: a free glass of beer for every collaborator of this thread ;-) -> http://www.mineral-forum.com/message-board/viewtopic.php?p=12066#12066

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the nicest and most fun European Show!

The Ste.Marie-aux-Mines 2010 brochure

[Jordi Fabre]

On the road 06/19/2010

One novelty in Ste. Marie will be the new book of Brazilian minerals and gemstones. Luiz Menezes our indefatigable collaborator was one of the contributors in writing parts and he will have books available in his tent CT-004

He promised to write more about this book in the Mineralogical Literature section, but while waiting for his text I advance some explanation written by Luiz:

"A new and excellent book about Brazilian minerals was just released. It contains 704 pages with nearly 1200 photos of minerals, mines and historical documents. What makes this book unique is that it is not just a compilation of nice photos, but it also tells the history of mining in Brazil going back to the time when it was still a colony of Portugal.

The authors are Carlos Cornejo (Chilean, mineral collector, publisher and historian) and Andrea Bartorelli (Brazilian, geologist and mineral collector) and the book was sponsored by Vale, the largest Brazilian mining company; they invited me to join their enterprise in 2008, just after granting the sponsorship.

Almost all important Brazilian mineral collectors, mineral dealers and museums contributed with their best specimens; out of the 723 photos of minerals, only 46 belong to foreign collectors, so the book is the first chance to see many outstanding specimens that have never been seen before. Most photos (395) were taken by Marcelo Lerner, a Brazilian photographer, 181 by Carlos Cornejo, 66 by Jeff Scovil, 10 by my daughter Tatiana (all of rare micro-minerals, including menezesite) and most of the others by the collectors or dealers. The quality of the photos and the printing is excellent.

It was a team effort: besides the authors more than 20 people (including myself) contributed by writing parts of the text and in its revision; it was the first time, to my knowledge, that the outstanding Brazilian mineral heritage was fully recorded."

Interestingly, and importantly, the book will be available both in English and in Portuguese.

More to come…

[Jordi Fabre]

Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines 06/21/2010

Today just a very short note. It seems that Morocco was productive past months and Moroccan dealers (a lot of they attend this Show) announce good stuff and some novelty.

Tomorrow the show starts!

More to come....

[Jordi Fabre]

Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines 06/23/2010

Confirmed, it seems that this year will be the year of Morocco in Ste Marie. New finds in classic localities: very good Erythrite in Bou-Azzer and Vanadinite in Mibladen, but also two very interesting novelties. Next days I will give more details and publish images of them.

In addition, next year will be, for the first time in Morocco, two Mineral Shows, one in Midelt and the other in Marrakech. You can see the brochures of both Shows below.
The scan of the Marrakech Show's brochure has very poor quality, but as they still haven't a date, I believe that the more or less visible email address is enough for the moment.

More to come...

[Jordi Fabre]

Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines 06/25/2010

Sorry for the limited information I can supply but Ste Marie is very intense for me this year and I can do little else. There are several people who are going to publish information in the English and Spanish Forum, but as in Ste Marie the Internet connection is very poor, they will do it at his return to their homes. Please stay tunned.

More to come...

[Jordi Fabre]

Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines 06/26/2010

They must be about to arrive the promised reports of other Forum members. The FMF’s party yesterday were a very happy party and as some members could have already returned to their countries I assume that very soon they will begin to publish their stories.

Today Saturday it was very hot in Ste Marie, but although this, and according the Show's crew, people crowded the Show. They said that about 20,000 visitors just today.

More to come...

[chris]

Back on Thursday morning.

[chris]

Time for me to visite the théâtre which exhibits high-end dealers before it is overcrowded like its entrance at noon. Not surprising, all the visitors were seeking shadow on this warm summer mid-day.

[chris]

The Prestige Exhibit of this year is the mine d'or de la Gardette (Gardette's gold mine). Even if the mine eventually produced a very limited amount of gold, and much more share spoofing, it did produce beautiful quartz specimens whose quality equals Arkansas quartz. The pieces being almost the same as the ones exhibited at the Chamonix museum, I'm inviting the reader to have a look at the following thread for more details : http://www.mineral-forum.com/message-board/viewtopic.php?t=692. It also contained an overview of the mineralogy of the Britain Region, which will be posted later on.

[chris]

[chris]

On my way I stopped at Crystal Classics to pickup a specimen (you'll see a picture of it later on). While I was there Ian Bruce showed me this. It is a z shapped calcite covered by quartz crystals with one termination being an arrowhead shapped fluorite from India. Thanks for sharing this unusual specimen with us Ian !

[chris]

Another impressive fluorite but from Peru. I made a longer stop this time as this very specimen had everything I like : a combination between sulfides & another mineral, plus an easthetism sought by most collectors. Unfortunately my money was already gone...

[chris]

For most collectors, Colombia is the locality for emeralds. Even if it can be found elsewhere in the world, how many of us also know that they can be found in Austria ? This specimen is from Leckbachrinne, Salzburg. Unfortunately the picture does not pay hommage at the quality of the emarald (more gemmy and light green). A curiosity : it was sold with the schist cap covering it when it was extracted (see false colors on the right side). While I was at the Watlz booth, I asked them why they didn't have much Epidote this year. I was told that a rock slide completely covered the area where the epidotes were collected the day before the reopening. Nobody was injured, but the cleaning will prevent any collecting process this year. However it should resume next year.

[chris]

Let's finish with some reds.

[chris]

I might be wrong but I had the impression that the diversity declined compared to the previous years. It seemed obvious that part of what was sold was coming from collections' purchases and not new collecting. I was also surprised by the number of specimens unlabeled or labeled POR compared to last year. Is this related to the crisis stricking us or because of the many « camera guys » taking thousands of shoots ?

Some might argue that these specimens are often too expansive for most of us. But is dreaming a bad thing ? After a few moments, it is time to go out. Several hundreds of dealers await you outside the théâtre and offer you the opportunity to hunt, and who knows find what you were looking for. And even if you don't find anything, hunting for minerals in the streets of a small city of the Vosges surrounded by mountains, is something you just can't compare with any other show. Add it to the pleasure of meeting friends from around the world and you'll be sure to enjoy your visit...

Christophe

[Tobias Martin]

[Antonio Alcaide]

Chris, thank you for sharing all the Show with people who could not attend it. I would like the atmosphere of the small town sorrounded by mountains in the Vosgos full of minerals and collectors.

Just a detail. I am quite sure the mineral that comes with red spinel is actually pargasite. It is the common paragenesi in Luc Yen Mine, Yenbai Province, Vietnam, as well as ruby of course.

Regards

[chris]

Hi Tobias,

You just learned me something. It is true that I rarely see specimens from there, the more usual localities being those you mentionned. I should have been more cautious.

The show in itself remains very cosmopolitan with people from almost every corners of the planet. As the previous years you could find all sorts of dealers saling raw amorphous rocks, sculptures, necklaces, as well as minerals. Because of the théâtre's report I spent less time than last year wandering in the streets so I might be wrong. But I had the impression they were more dealers sailing by-products than the years before. Maybe Roger will be more accuarte on this account than myself.

Of course you could see the usual anecdoctes such as :
- Chinese dealers sailing over-oiled fluorites.
- A French dealer exposing Beix fluorite to the sun, not knowing it is sunlight sensitive (I'm curious to know how long it took to turn it colorless).
- A guy wandering between displays with a pendulum searching for something none of us understood.
- An Italian strahler having great specimens form sale at reasonable prices.

Christophe

[chris]

Hello Antonio,

You are right, this is paragasite. I've typed a bit too fast. The atmosphere of the place is very pleasant even if newcomers tend to be a bit stunned by all these collectors and dealers wandering around.

What's attractive at Ste Marie as well is the fact you just need a few minutes drive from the show to be in the back country, with only the mountains & forests around you. What a pleasant break after spending several hours in the middle of the crowd. And I forgot to mention both the wines and great food you can find here. if one day you plan to visit the show, I recommend you to keep some days to tour around. The area really worths the visit (I can send some pictures of it through pm requests).

Christophe

[Antonio Alcaide]

I suppose there is no problem in posting here some photos of the surroundings. Most of us would enjoy them. But you can await the suggestions about it from the moderators.

Cheers