FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[VRigatti]

Here is a super gemmy pink spinel twin fluorite with muscovite from Nagar, Pakistan. Measures 10 x 6 x 3.5 cm. On first glance it looks like a Morganite

[Jesse Fisher]

From recent find, "Coquera del Tubo" pocket.

[VRigatti]

One of my favorites. A large multi-stepped gemmy green crystal on quartz matrix from China. The large crystal is perfect all around with 4 distinct flat terminations, reminds me of a Mayan temple. Measures 11 x 9 x 7 cm. From Sanming Prefecture, Fujian China.

[Tobi]

[VRigatti]

This specimen is from Le Beix mine Auvergne, France. It measures 15.5 x 12 x 8.5 cm and features cubic fluorite with light blue cores and a colorless outer rims. There is also a second generation of small purple fluorites as a nice accent, and all on a quartz matrix. The largest cubes are 3 cm across.

[VRigatti]

Here is a Shangbao fluorite, one of my favorite locations. It features multiple gemmy raspberry colored crystals (front and back) on a quartz matrix. Measures 9 x 5 x 4 cm.

[Philippe Durand]

I LOVE THESE FLUORITES

[Gerhard Brandstetter]

Up to now I miss Austrian Fluorites. Now some specimens from Weisseck mountain for a start.

[Tobi]

Simply GREAT specimens, guys! Vincent, I also love Shangbao, the mine produces wonderful fluorites, and your purple specimen is a great example. And Gerhard, really lovely fluorites from Austria, the last one with the large main crystal is my favourite :-)

The following specimen instantly became one of my own favourites though I didn't even know the locality before I got this one:

[Jesse Fisher]

Another French blue, from Mont-Roc.

[Gerhard Brandstetter]

Something from Greece

[Jamison Brizendine]

It’s impossible for me to state which localities are my favorites for fluorites. Like Michael Shaw, one of my favorite localities is the Illinois-Kentucky Fluorspar District.

This specimen is in the collection of the Cranbook Institute of Science and formerly in Archibald N. Goddard’s collection. Archibald Goddard was a Cranbrook Trustee from the 1930s to the 1960s (Appleman, Bielat and James, 2000, p. 29, 45).

The specimen itself is in excellent quality and most likely from the Sub-Rosiclare Level, W.L. Davis-Deardorff Mine. The specimen was probably mined during the late 1930s up to the 1950s. The light purple fluorite cubes, the scattered sphalerite crystals and the heavy amount of quartz all seem to indicate that this specimen originated from the Deardoff. The Deardorff Mine was one of Ozark-Mahoning’s richest deposit when Ozark and Mahoning Mining Companies completed their merger.

References Cited:

Appleman, P., Bielat, V. and James, A., 2000, Papers, 1920s-1990s: Cranbrook Institute of Science director’s papers, archives, acquisition number 1990-31: p. 29, 45.

[VRigatti]

This is a Dalnegorsk, Russia fluorite of fine quality. It measure 5.5 x 4 x 3 cm and is a very pale green with a faint phantom. There is a slight contact on the lower left. R Watzl Photo

[Jesse Fisher]

Spinel twinned fluorite crystal with topaz and smoky quartz. An unusual location for fluorite, better known for aquamarine.

[VRigatti]

A light blue miniature fluorite from Walworth, NY on dolomite. Measures 3.2 x 3.2 x 4 cm