FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[bob kerr]

Couldn't pass up a visit to Luis Burillo's room - and found some very unique Wulfenites and mimetites from La Morita that display a different habit - spread out and distinct on the matrix (calcite?).

see photos.

[bob kerr]

Sharing a room with Muhammad Ejaz (see earlier post) is long time Chinese Dealer Mr. Zheng. He had some wonderful Chinese minerals available - let the photos speak.

Also, Muhammad graced me with what may be the best specimen ever recovered from Pingwu - a HUGE fluorite cube next to a large and gemmy scheelite - see photo.

[bob kerr]

Alan's Quality Minerals was offering a large selection of lustrous and colorful Barites on Fluorites from Xiefang.

[bob kerr]

The Crystal Cantina moved from it's previously relatively obscure location right up to the front of building A and their room is just one more of the many improvements realized this year.

[bob kerr]

Marco Tironi came to the show with a large and lustrous contingent of hematite roses from Ouro Preto, Brazil.

[bob kerr]

In the "I'm not dead yet" category, The Westward Look show has returned again with an elite dozen or so dealers. There is the usual mind-blowing specimens but Gulam Mustafa's room was out of this world. Enjoy - but get there in person to see these if you can.

[bob kerr]

Christope Gobin in the Westward Look had some of those botryoidal malachites on quartz from The Congo that I presented earlier. These are few and far between.

[bob kerr]

I didn't have much time to spend today given the US Football championships, but I did stop by the room of Dan Zellner (DanZ Rockshop in Golden CO) in the E building and spent a good bit of time with him and his excellent offerings.

Each photo has a brief description but notice especially the gem feldspar (sanidine) from Madagascar and the terrific fluorite "flower" on celestine from.Ohio.

[bob kerr]

Mike Shannon in the D building always has a wide variety of minerals to pick from and is also a MAJOR source of display and storage material at VERY reasonable prices.

His room was adorned by two very large San Francisco Mine wulfenite/mimetite specimens in special housings. It's worth stopping by his room just for these if nothing else.

[bob kerr]

I went to the Mineral and Fossil Showcase today (Drachman and Oracle - directly west of the old Executive Inn) to visit a friend and met an Indian dealer selling these stalagmites - see photo. They look a bit "too good to be true" so i examined them as close as i could with my 10x loop. I noted they were oiled but the interfaces were remarkably "clean" - maybe too "clean".

I asked a number of times and the dealer said clearly that these were natural but that there were some repairs and also that the oil was there for protection from the sun (?).

OK - what're your thoughts? natural or man-made specimens? what tests are worth doing? UV test for glues? It may be the case that the interfaces (and repairs) may be glued then sprinkled with crushed quartz to cover the "wound".

I bought one for testing and was able to charge it to my VISA card so if I find conclusive evidence of these being man-made then it will go back, and I will dispute and reject the charge.

There were also "specimens" of green apophyllite in a habit I had not seen before - see photo - but I didn't examine these.

[James Catmur]

They do look like they have been assembled to create these forms, but see what your tests find

[bob kerr]

A follow-up on those Indian Stalagmites - they are brilliantly assembled sculptures. Some detailed photos attached.

In the first photo you can see on the left half where specimens are glued to a "stalagmite" then the glue is sprinkled with crushed quartz to hide the interface. The right side of the photos is mostly natural chalcedony. The entire sculpture is then oiled.

In the second photo (the bottom of the sculpture) you can see 4 distinct rocks glued together then sprinkled with crushed quartz and oiled.

In the third photo you can see how the crushed quartz covers the side of the attached zeolite up to where the glue stopped and then, of course, oiled.

So, these are definitely man-made mineral "sculptures" and if they would've been clearly marked and sold as such, I would have no problem with them. However, the dealers not only repeated that they are natural but also provided the locality.

As usual - Caveat Emptor

Footnote - I did have my credit card credited with the full purchase price.

[bob kerr]

As discussed previously, Muhammad Ejaz has finally been able to find a stand that is strong enough for one of his two HUGE Pakistani Aquamarine "specimens" - this one is 1.1 meters across.

There is an even nicer piece to be displayed in the next couple of days.

It is mind-boggling to see all the incredible and HUGE Pakistani aquas at this year's shows - let's hope that Erongo can challenge them in the future.

[bob kerr]

Phil Persson in the D building had a number of new items - one was gem sphalerites from Huxingshan, China.

[bob kerr]

I visited the Crystal Classic's building called "The Tucson Fine Mineral Gallery" and was, as expected, overwhelmed with quality specimens.

As you walk through the front entrance you are greeted with a large display case that house 3 massive amethyst "towers" from Artigas Uruguay then walking around the corner there are yet 4 additional large cases each holding two additional "towers". These are much more works of art than mineral specimens but simply awe-inspiring none the less.