FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

I keep all my Red minerals in drawers - the majority are unfortunately, light sensitive. Please don't leave your Vanadinite in sunlight. display for short periods of time, perhaps? Otherwise, if you w ...

I remember visiting this wonderful museum in 2000 - well worth a visit, if only to experience going into those miners cottages and realising in the 1700's a whole family lived in ONE room and there wa ...

hi Judith,
unfortunately this part of the country is mostly glacial deposition , alluvial gravels, sand, and clay with the occasional outcropping of limestone. great for fossils -pretty dull (as was ...

Thanks for these postings. i too found yellow crystals from here that i was only half convinced were Vanadinite - so thanks for the confirmation!
BTW Mal -those little gemmy crystals are lovely!

I love Gails show reports.
One of the main reasons they are so good is that i often don't have a clue who anyone is until I see a picture of them. having a 'face' that goes with the name is incredibl ...

i'm pretty certain that several of the blue barytes I have from here are natural (but as Tom noted, mine were collected in the 1980's). The irradiated specimens, are, like the Quartz usually grey to b ...

hya Juan - thanks for the show report! have you got any more photos of the other competition display cases? i seem to recall case number 4 had several world class specimens in it including a huge nati ...

thanks for the explanations, 'arm waving' and pictures, guys. The NHM crystal is astonishing!
Jordi - the Wh Mary Ann Ps.Chalcedony after Octo Fluorite are pretty cool - Ive got a few of them :-)

Cool! i love these oddities. They make you sit up in your seat a bit more and ask questions - like, how did that particular crystal grow like that and not the ones surrounding it from the same pocket? ...

Hi Barry,
thyoglycolate (and thyomyaglycolate) are active ingredients in perming solution used by hairdressers and readily available from any hairdressing suppliers.

i did use this method of pyrit ...

Hi Gail - I would love to attend and meet up with you guys (maybe one day!) but time and distance prevail once more.
I am however, really looking forward to seeing the photos and reading one of your ...

Thanks for the words of encouragement Gail & Jordi!!

thought I would post pics of specimens other than Micros that i've collected :-)

More from Bulgaria.....this time Zeolites from Zlatolist

This one also from same locality as previous Cacoxenite. I entered this specimen in to our local (Milton Keynes Geological Society) annual 'best mineral' Competition - and won it....which meant I had ...

this one not as microscopic.... but one of my favourites, collected in wonderful scenery

Hi Ladies!! thought it was about time I uploaded a few of my rocks on to here too - better show the ones I've collected (or maybe just a few -many are now extremely MICRO!) whover said they take up le ...

Author	Message
Topic: Making brown vanadinite red again
Colleen Thomson Replies: 9 Views: 14611	Forum: Conserving, Preparing and Cleaning Minerals Posted: Oct 26, 2013 19:14 Subject: Re: Making brown vanadinite red again
Colleen Thomson Replies: 9 Views: 14611	I keep all my Red minerals in drawers - the majority are unfortunately, light sensitive. Please don't leave your Vanadinite in sunlight. display for short periods of time, perhaps? Otherwise, if you w ...
Topic: Scottish Museum of Lead Mining
Colleen Thomson Replies: 1 Views: 13023	Forum: Scottish Museums Posted: Jun 09, 2013 19:31 Subject: Re: Scottish Museum of Lead Mining
Colleen Thomson Replies: 1 Views: 13023	I remember visiting this wonderful museum in 2000 - well worth a visit, if only to experience going into those miners cottages and realising in the 1700's a whole family lived in ONE room and there wa ...
Topic: Oxfordshire Mineral Groups and Specimens
Colleen Thomson Replies: 8 Views: 10285	Forum: Off-Topic and Introductions Posted: Jan 02, 2013 20:09 Subject: Re: Oxfordshire Mineral Groups and Specimens
Colleen Thomson Replies: 8 Views: 10285	hi Judith, unfortunately this part of the country is mostly glacial deposition , alluvial gravels, sand, and clay with the occasional outcropping of limestone. great for fossils -pretty dull (as was ...
Topic: Mimetite from Taouz?
Colleen Thomson Replies: 14 Views: 19791	Forum: Mines and Mineral Localities Posted: Nov 28, 2012 19:08 Subject: Re: Mimetite from Taouz?
Colleen Thomson Replies: 14 Views: 19791	Thanks for these postings. i too found yellow crystals from here that i was only half convinced were Vanadinite - so thanks for the confirmation! BTW Mal -those little gemmy crystals are lovely!
Topic: The reason why Gail Spann can do what she wants with her reports ;-)
Colleen Thomson Replies: 16 Views: 26084	Forum: Mineral Shows by Gail Spann Posted: Sep 16, 2012 19:01 Subject: Re: The reason why Gail Spann can do what she wants with her reports ;-)
Colleen Thomson Replies: 16 Views: 26084	I love Gails show reports. One of the main reasons they are so good is that i often don't have a clue who anyone is until I see a picture of them. having a 'face' that goes with the name is incredibl ...
Topic: Blue Barytes from Baia Sprie (Felsobanya) Mine, Romania
Colleen Thomson Replies: 14 Views: 28257	Forum: Incorrect classification and fakes Posted: Apr 11, 2012 19:46 Subject: Re: Blue Barytes from Baia Sprie (Felsobanya) Mine, Romania
Colleen Thomson Replies: 14 Views: 28257	i'm pretty certain that several of the blue barytes I have from here are natural (but as Tom noted, mine were collected in the 1980's). The irradiated specimens, are, like the Quartz usually grey to b ...
Topic: Sussex 2011
Colleen Thomson Replies: 16 Views: 29914	Forum: Mineral Shows Posted: Dec 05, 2011 20:27 Subject: Re: Sussex 2011
Colleen Thomson Replies: 16 Views: 29914	hya Juan - thanks for the show report! have you got any more photos of the other competition display cases? i seem to recall case number 4 had several world class specimens in it including a huge nati ...
Topic: Unusual Fluorite
Colleen Thomson Replies: 14 Views: 18111	Forum: Minerals and Mineralogy Posted: Jul 07, 2010 12:58 Subject: Re: Unusual Fluorite
Colleen Thomson Replies: 14 Views: 18111	thanks for the explanations, 'arm waving' and pictures, guys. The NHM crystal is astonishing! Jordi - the Wh Mary Ann Ps.Chalcedony after Octo Fluorite are pretty cool - Ive got a few of them :-)
Topic: Unusual Fluorite
Colleen Thomson Replies: 14 Views: 18111	Forum: Minerals and Mineralogy Posted: Jun 29, 2010 17:04 Subject: Re: Unusual Fluorite
Colleen Thomson Replies: 14 Views: 18111	Cool! i love these oddities. They make you sit up in your seat a bit more and ask questions - like, how did that particular crystal grow like that and not the ones surrounding it from the same pocket? ...
Topic: Ethanolamine thioglycolate
Colleen Thomson Replies: 5 Views: 11528	Forum: Conserving, Preparing and Cleaning Minerals Posted: Jun 29, 2010 16:51 Subject: Re: Ethanolamine thioglycolate
Colleen Thomson Replies: 5 Views: 11528	Hi Barry, thyoglycolate (and thyomyaglycolate) are active ingredients in perming solution used by hairdressers and readily available from any hairdressing suppliers. i did use this method of pyrit ...
Topic: Gail Spann's photofest of the Denver 2009 show.
Colleen Thomson Replies: 130 Views: 171323	Forum: Mineral Shows by Gail Spann Posted: Sep 12, 2009 07:18 Subject: Re: Gail Spann's photofest of the Denver 2009 show.
Colleen Thomson Replies: 130 Views: 171323	Hi Gail - I would love to attend and meet up with you guys (maybe one day!) but time and distance prevail once more. I am however, really looking forward to seeing the photos and reading one of your ...
Topic: Colleen's Collection
Colleen Thomson Replies: 10 Views: 47917	Forum: Women's Private Collections Posted: May 24, 2009 19:24 Subject: Re: Colleen's Collection
Colleen Thomson Replies: 10 Views: 47917	Thanks for the words of encouragement Gail & Jordi!! thought I would post pics of specimens other than Micros that i've collected :-)
Topic: Colleen's Collection
Colleen Thomson Replies: 10 Views: 47917	Forum: Women's Private Collections Posted: May 22, 2009 19:46 Subject: Re: Colleen's Collection
Colleen Thomson Replies: 10 Views: 47917	More from Bulgaria.....this time Zeolites from Zlatolist
Topic: Colleen's Collection
Colleen Thomson Replies: 10 Views: 47917	Forum: Women's Private Collections Posted: May 22, 2009 19:40 Subject: Re: Colleen's Collection
Colleen Thomson Replies: 10 Views: 47917	This one also from same locality as previous Cacoxenite. I entered this specimen in to our local (Milton Keynes Geological Society) annual 'best mineral' Competition - and won it....which meant I had ...
Topic: Colleen's Collection
Colleen Thomson Replies: 10 Views: 47917	Forum: Women's Private Collections Posted: May 22, 2009 19:35 Subject: Re: Colleen's Collection
Colleen Thomson Replies: 10 Views: 47917	this one not as microscopic.... but one of my favourites, collected in wonderful scenery
Topic: Colleen's Collection
Colleen Thomson Replies: 10 Views: 47917	Forum: Women's Private Collections Posted: May 22, 2009 19:17 Subject: Colleen's Collection
Colleen Thomson Replies: 10 Views: 47917	Hi Ladies!! thought it was about time I uploaded a few of my rocks on to here too - better show the ones I've collected (or maybe just a few -many are now extremely MICRO!) whover said they take up le ...