FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Tobi]

This summer is such a horror, we had several days in June close to 40° C. When I was a kid in the 80s and early 90s, "extreme" summer days here in the middle of Germany had 35 or 36°C, now we are at 38/39 ... welcome to climate change :-(

But fortunately July starts much colder, I hope it lasts a while ...

I hope all who were in Ste. Marie survived the heat. Looking forward for many more impressions from the show :-)

[Jordi Fabre]

[Tobi]

Thank you Jordi, great photos, I'm really stunned by that giant siderite from Saint-Pierre-de-Mésage, maybe the best siderite specimen in the world?!:

https://www.foro-minerales.com/forum/download.php?id=213862
https://www.foro-minerales.com/forum/download.php?id=213861

[Jordi Fabre]

Barcelona 07/07/2019

Carles has done a so extraordinary reportage in the Spanish side of FMF that I am happy both because his work is excellent and because I do not have to think about where I would find time to do it myself! 😊

FMF is a gift and I realize it well when I can enjoy it just as a visitor. In the near future we will have to find some way so that without losing its quality, FMF does not depend so much on me. We will need administrators and moderators having computer skills and willingness to work. The current really active are just myself, Michael Shaw, Firmo Espinar and, within their limitations, James Catmur and Carles Millán and we really are very few for the amount of work generated by a big Forum as FMF.

After this whole history, I will now basically reproduce most of what Carles has already said in the FMF Spanish side and since it's difficult to improve it, what I'm going to do is try to make it nice! 😊



The new Moroccan Vanadinites were found in two very prominent findings, one in the area called Mohamedin, in the Coud'a zone, Mibladen and it was made in January-February 2019 and the second one was made in April-May 2019 also in the Coud'a zone but in another area not specified yet, but that seems to be something else to the East that the first find. This video shows one of the red and "architectural" pieces very characteristic of the second find and that are very similar in terms of shape to the historical ones of T-Ouest although the color is very different.




And this is one of the characteristic Vanadinites of the first and spectacular discovery made in January-February 2019 at about 40 meters deep, in the so-called "second vanadium level". Many pieces, very well dug, and with crystals of up to 3 cm. and that sometimes form large groups of crystals. The color is not red-red but the crystals are usually translucent and with an intense light inside them shows a kind of nice orange tone so with good lighting the pieces are very spectacular as seen in this photo.






Imilchil never disappoints us and this time what it offers is these presumed Apatite crystals allegedly pseudomorphized and with presumed coatings of a presumed carbonate. All very presumed, the analyzes will say what this new find is that in some cases appears associated with nice Epidote crystals.








And we continue with Imilchil, this time with Prehnite of two types different from that previously known. Doubly terminated and isolated crystals and/or groups of green crystals in a matrix that looks like an Ophite, and very large crystals of yellow color of extraordinary quality that are on Calcite and that rival the best Prehnite of any other site. There is some rumor that in fact these last Prehnites could come from Guercif by its matrix of Calcite and by being "too good" to be Imilchil. We will see, but for the moment what is known about them is: Imilchil.






Another new find is the Murdochite, not previously mentioned in the Los Azules Mine in Copiapó, Atacama, Chile and that being associated with Brochantite and Linarite has a nice presence, which can not be said of other Murdochite found previously in other localities...






Now, we have gone from the chapter of strict new finds to things that have not appeared for the first time in this edition of Ste. Marie, but for different reasons I have found them interesting. These quartz from Colombia with inclusions of "something" have been the subject of discussion since they appeared. First it was said that the inclusions were the rare species Humboldtine. That was already discredited. Afterwards Halloysite was talked about but without analytical confirmation, so, the subject is still alive. In the May/June 2019 edition of the always interesting magazine Rocks & Minerals the subject was discussed and John Rakovan also enlightens us in this thread: Quartz and Humboldtine? from Colombia. We will see how the question ends, for now what can be said is that they are very beautiful 😉
Below I copy the cover of the magazine Rocks & Minerals with one of these Quartz in all its splendor.







The Manuelita Mine, has been active for many years and gave many beautiful Rhodochrosites, but had not heard about this mine in the last years. Recently, at 1400 meters deep, unexpectedly the miners found more Rhodochrosite, slightly different from those that had been found before. A great surprise to reappear the Rhodochrosite at such depth!




The Cabeça do Cachorro concession that exploits phosphates in the Brazilian Amazonas has been known for some time by its Vivianite and it was also known that good Ludlamite also came out from there, but in this Ste. Marie we have seen examples of great quality that have made us put this locality among the best in the world for this species.

I leave two more things for my next post: spectacular Proustites that were found again in Aït Ahmane in the month of April of this year and that are somewhat different from the previous ones being in a matrix of something which looks like Safflorite or Rammelsbergite and also by minor associated Actinolite, and the spectacular Fluor-liddicoatite found in the Sahatany Valley area of Madagascar.

More to come...

[Tobi]

[Firmo Espinar]

Congratulations Tobi.

They are many contributions.

[Jordi Fabre]

[Jordi Fabre]

Barcelona 13/07/2018

One of the things that helps to better understand the atmosphere of the Shows are the reviews of the local newspapers. Thanks to the help of Pina and Gérard Schneller we can see the vision of the St. Marie Show of the local newspaper DNA.

This time the quality of the scanner is not the desirable due some technical issues. In case you really want to read well these files you can go to the web page of the DNA and find them there.

Thanks Pina and Gérard!

[Jordi Fabre]

Ste. Marie has already finished for me, I hope others are still encouraged and publish more photos about this so hot edition. I remember once more that in the Spanish side there is a lot of information and images (6 pages and over 500 images at this time)

Ste. Marie is like a kind of anchor with the past. Is the third most important Mineral Show in the world and one can find there details as endearing as the ad below that could be placed on one of the billboards of the "Piscine" almost as much as the minerals in the veins of the Vallée of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines!😁

I still have you in my heart Ste. Marie

[Roger Warin]

Hi,
Gachala (Colombia) is not only famous for its emeralds, but also for its pyrites.
Two twinned pyritohedrons (interpenetration) also known as iron cross twin. Twin axis [001].
Seen at Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines show (2019).

[Roger Warin]

Hi,
Wiluite crystallizes in the tetragonal system and occurs in well-formed crystals with good external form. It is isostructural with vesuviante. Formerly, it was regarded as a variety of Vesuvianite (Fabre's specimen).

[Jordi Fabre]

[Roger Warin]

Jordi,

Yes, I think also it’s a calcite, with the hexagonal prism terminated by the pinacoid. This habit is called “kanonen spath” in Germany.
This habit is frequent at St Andreasberg. Correct Tobi?

[Tobi]

The Sagrada Familia made of calcite - great :-)

[Jordi Fabre]