FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Gail]

I LIKED my visit, had a good time, had a full day with a curator and we brought FLASHLIGHTS.

[Gail]

...Now, where was I? Oh yes.....

HART - Recently 're-discovered' in the Geological Survey collections this specimen came by exchange from Peter Bancroft. Some careful cleaning and conservation reveals our best rose-quartz - Minas Gerais, Brazil

[Gail]

So, I have never been called a celebrity guest before, have you Jolyon? Kind of funny isn't it? ( chuckling here <------ )

Speaking of celebrities..here's my very own Jim with that Quartz.

[Gail]

...Calcite

[Gail]

...

[Gail]

...Chlinoclase.

[Gail]

Great anatase from Binn, Valais, Switzerland 1896. In Bancroft's book the crystal is 3.7 x 3.2 cm.

[Gail]

HART - The famed stephanite from Wheal Newton, Cornwall. For the species a 'killer' specimen, let alone the fact it is Cornish. A wonderful paper by Prof. J.W. Lewis (Camb. Phil. Soc. Proc., Vol. IV, Part IV, 240-252) describes the form and crystallography.

[Gail]

HART - The acanthite is an amazing specimen. From Wheal Newton Cornwall, mid 19th century. By far the best one in the collection although Russell has smaller and similar. This specimen came from a Mr Bennett who was agent for the mine - he also supplied the stephanite crystal above

[Tobi]

Once again a great report, Gail, stunning mineral specimens!

https://www.mineral-forum.com/message-board/files/dsc_0033_2_237.jpg
---> skull scene from Hamlet? ;-)

[John S. White]

Are not the more recent tourmalines Alan Hart is referring to that are similar to the one shown in Gail's photos that is illustrated in Sowerby from Burma and not Viet Nam?


Hi John, the Burmese material I am familiar with tends towards a richer rubellite colour, this is the specimen I saw that me me think 'wow a mini Symes rubellite', very similar in colour and form. Unless of course the locality is 'wrong'.

[Gail]

The huge old tourmaline was from Siam , ( AVA) (now Burma and Thailand)

[Gail]

[John S. White]

I understand that, but I was referring to the new material that is similar in appearance that Alan Hart said was from Viet Nam. I feel quite certain that it is also from Burma, very likely the same general area as the antique piece in the photos.

[Gail]

and let's continue...

Matlockite from the Ludlam collection. From old workings in the lead mines around Cromford, Derybshire. Thick tabular crystals for the species, which also occur in thinner masses or radiating spherulitic aggregates with galena etc

[Gail]

61 and 62 above is Chlinoclase.

[Alan.Hart]

Hi John, yes the Burma material seems to tend a lot more toward rubellite colour, the specimen I saw which was distinctly similar was being sold by Wayne Leicht - I have an image somewhere and will try and upload it. It could be however that my memory is playing tricks on me - be interesting to see......

[Gail]

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[Gail]

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[Jesse Fisher]

The habit of the "Sowerby" tourmaline is very much like some of the recent material from Yen Bai, about 100 km NE of Hanoi, in Vietnam. The tourmaline from these pegmatites is polychrome, and I have seen colors ranging from pale pink to deep to green. I have a fairly large one that is roughly similar to the NHM one except that the a pink interior has been covered with a thin surface layer of dark green.

I also have a tourmaline, reportedly from the Momeik area, near Mogok, which is a pale yellow-pink color and has a brush-like habit with multiple terminations. The overall appearance of the Vietnamese tourmalines is much closer, however.