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Joined: 07 Aug 2006
Posts: 4930
Location: Barcelona
Posted: Jun 20, 2009 15:45 Post subject: Sainte Marie-aux-Mines Show 2009 - The Year of the Demantoid
Barcelona 06/20/2009
This year in Ste. Marie the novelties (plural) seems to be one (singular) mineral species: Andradite (Demantoid) due the coincidence of two findings of this species in two very different countries.
In the famous Jeffrey Quarry in Asbestos, Quebec, Canada, and despite being abandoned and flooded, local enthusiasts still find things. On April 25 of 2009, on the south side of the quarry and about 200 meters deep, people found a small pocket with beautiful garnets. The first impression was that they were green Grossular (chromium rich), but the color, slightly different from other Grossulars found there previously, and their association with white amphiboles, made me suspicious and I ordered an analysis, showing them to be Andradite variety Demantoid. Although is not the first time that this species was found in the Jeffrey Quarry, its quality and the association make them different, and as you can see in the picture, they also are very nice.
On the other hand in Ambanja, Department of Diana, Madagascar, and in an unusual site, a kind of platform washed by the sea and about 9 meters deep beneath seaweed, and organic matter were also found Demantoid, single crystals or clusters, with a large crystal size (it seems that up to 2 cm.) and with an excellent transparency and sharpness.
As typical in Madagascar when something gemmy appears, a crowd of people gather at the deposit (I hear that there are currently 14,000 people searching Demantoid there!), so we should follow the developments of this find, since it appears to be very prolific, and therefore the possibility of a lot of specimens coming to the market.
You can find more information about this find (in French language) using these two links:
At the moment, it seems there are no photos online of these Demantoids, but on the website of the University of Nantes they promise to publish soon photos of the site and of some samples. Anyway, if I get in Sainte Marie some Demantoid from some of the many dealers operating in Madagascar that I'm sure will bring specimens there, I will publish photos of them here.
More to come...
Andradite-Demantoid Canada.jpg
Description:
One example of the find of Andradite-Demantoid from Jeffrey Quarry in Canada. As you can see in the picture, they are colorful, with a nice green color and a good contrast with the white matrix. Specimen size: 3 x 4 cm.
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The place of the Demantoid find.jpg
Description:
This is the area of the Jeffrey Quarry where the Demantoid appeared. It is the same area of the Vesuvianites, on the south side of the Quarry, about 200 meters deep. We can see the precise place marked by two white lines. As far as I know, this area has been dug, and currently there are no more specimens.
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Analysis of the Canadian Demantoid.jpg
Description:
Copy of the analysis of the Andradite (Demantoid) from Jeffrey Quarry.
Joined: 07 Aug 2006
Posts: 4930
Location: Barcelona
Posted: Jun 21, 2009 16:21 Post subject: Sainte Marie-aux-Mines 2009 Show - (1)
Sainte Marie-aux-Mines 06/21/2009
Today we arrived to Ste. Marie. Two photos of the day.
More to come...
Coach from Ste. Marie in Lyon.jpg
Description:
What a coincidence! We taken a break in our route to Ste. Marie at a service area of Lyon, and what was there?, a coach from Ste Marie-Val d'Argent with pictures of quartz. With a so big world and a so small Ste Marie! ;-)
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Sainte Marie's party.jpg
Description:
Ste. Marie looks more and more like a party. Today Sunday, three days before the start of the Show, there already are attractions, music and street kiosks. ¡Azúcar!....
Joined: 07 Aug 2006
Posts: 4930
Location: Barcelona
Posted: Jun 22, 2009 16:10 Post subject: Sainte Marie-aux-Mines 2009 Show - (2)
Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines 06/22/2009
Cold day today with continuous changes of weather and the typical bzzzz between visitors before the opening of the Exhibition.
Great news: Dave Wilbur who had serious health problems in Tucson, has been recovered and he is here for the first time since 1998. I was delighted to meet him.
More to come...
Sainte Marie aux Mines 2009 - Place Foch empty.jpg
Description:
Today has been a nasty day, quite cold, causing something that until now I had never seen: the coffee from the Plaza Foch was empty. This coffee is always overflowing, because is the "meeting point" of the Fair to be front the main entrance. Gives a strange feeling to view it so empty.
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Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines 2009 anti-parking.jpg
Description:
At Ste Marie they are direct. Cars park on sidewalks? not problems! ;-)
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Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines 2009 - Dave Wilbur.jpg
Description:
Dave Wilbur at Ste Marie, now fully recovered of his health problems.
Joined: 07 Aug 2006
Posts: 4930
Location: Barcelona
Posted: Jun 24, 2009 16:08 Post subject: Sainte Marie-aux-Mines 2009 Show - (4)
Sainte Marie-aux-Mines 06/24/2009
Very few novelties this year (once again). The new Demantoids from Madagascar have not yet been exposed, and for the rest, just two things to note. Some Quartz (Amethyst) doubly terminated, floaters, with no matrix but very nice, due to a double colorful phantom on the inside, mined from somewhere between Akka and Goulmine in Morocco, and also some pretty Rosasites from the Ojuela Mine, having good color. Not much more.
More to come...
Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines 2009 - nice building.jpg
Description:
One of the fascinating mansions of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines.
Joined: 07 Aug 2006
Posts: 4930
Location: Barcelona
Posted: Jun 25, 2009 16:03 Post subject: Sainte Marie-aux-Mines 2009 Show - (5)
Sainte Marie-aux-Mines 06/25/2009
Another novelty at the Show!. In March of this year, local collectors found a pocket in Knappenwand, Austria, with several samples of the famous Epidote with Actinolite (Byssolite). They found very few pieces, but all are excellent, although there are several that are repaired.
On the other hand, finally I have seen some of the famous Demantoid from Madagascar and, as shown in the photo, the transparency and shape are extraordinary, but the color is not as good as I expected.
This is one of the best Demantoids from Madagascar. The crystals are in matrix and they measured about 1 cm. The piece is from Laurent Thomas (Polychrome Minerals) who has kindly given to us permission to photograph it.
Joined: 07 Aug 2006
Posts: 4930
Location: Barcelona
Posted: Jun 27, 2009 16:01 Post subject: Sainte Marie-aux-Mines 2009 Show - (7)
Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines 27/06/2009
This is one of the new Amethyst Quartzes from Morocco, doubly terminated and with a double phantom in the form of a "hour glass". Apparently they appear somewhere between Akka and Goulmina in a kind of limestone terrain.
I'm sorry I can't supply more details, that's all I know.
Joined: 07 Aug 2006
Posts: 4930
Location: Barcelona
Posted: Jul 02, 2009 09:00 Post subject: Sainte Marie-aux-Mines 2009 Show - (9)
Barcelona 07/02/209
Before closing these columns with the final conclusions, I publish this video of the excellent exhibition of French Fluorites presented in the Theater. As you can see in the pictures, some of these are outstanding...
Ploum has also published in Youtube a similar video, with the advantage that he edited the images, adding to each Fluorite its locality. Here it is:
Joined: 07 Aug 2006
Posts: 4930
Location: Barcelona
Posted: Jul 03, 2009 15:35 Post subject: Sainte Marie-aux-Mines 2009 Show - (10)
What happened this year at Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines? Curiously, in these times of profound crisis, nothing special seems to have happened. Slightly slower, slightly fewer people, a somewhat smaller number of sales, but nothing really different, suggesting that the mineral world is solid and that the collectors are loyal and constant, and although the economy does not go very well, they still progress in their hobby. Perhaps just a comment that it does seem that the transactions between dealer didn't work very well, perhaps due to the doubts about the times we live in, but collectors are here and I think they will stay.
What's new?. Also, nothing really different to previous shows, so very few major new findings and many small new discoveries.
I would highlight the new Moroccan Quartz Amethyst "hourglass", the new finds of Epidote from Knappenewand, the Demantoide from Madagascar and Jeffrey Quarry, and many new specimens from Ojuela mine (more Wulfenite with green Mimetite and new Rosasite with or without Calcite crystals)
Add to this some finding in Myanmar of some (very few) excellent crystals of Petalite and some (also very few) Johachidolite, much better than the previous ones from North Korea. Also, very special Vanadinites found in Taouz, Morocco, and the usual small finds from the quarries of Artigas, Uruguay, Peru (nice Silvers from Uchucchacua) and China (large crystals, but not idiomorphic, of Bismuth).
I do not want to finish this summary without mentioning the recent discovery of Euchroites in a new locality in Slovakia, in the mining area of Farbište, close to Poniky, Banská Bystrica. Although currently they are not as good as the classic ones from Ľubietová, they are nice and very promising. We will see what happens in the future...
The best news from this edition of Ste Marie, is, without doubt, that for the moment the show won't move to Colmar, so at least next year we can continue to enjoy this Show, where the beauty of the minerals compares with the agreeable atmosphere and the landscape where the Show is held. As an example, here is this video of a musical performance during the Show. Last year I published a video with a performance of chamber music inside the theater, this year we had ragtime in the avenues of this so special Show.
This is one of the new Amethyst Quartzes from Morocco, doubly terminated and with a double phantom in the form of a "hour glass". Apparently they appear somewhere between Akka and Goulmina in a kind of limestone terrain.
I'm sorry I can't supply more details, that's all I know.
Time passed, and finally I got new info about the right locality of the Moroccan Quartz (Amethyst) 'hour glass'. They seems to come from Adrar Tirecht Bou Oudi mountain, close Tata, Gulmina-Es Smara region.
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