FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Samuel]

I do not collect a lot of Baryte, but when my Chinese friends showed me this it looked just yummy. The crystals are well formed, tabular and very clear – gemmy! It is 9 x 7 x 4 cm and the largest Baryte is about 2.5 cm long. The crystals have a slight hint of blue, but not significant in my opinion. It hails from Jinkouhe, Ebian County, Leshan Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China. However the locality is still not definite; and even my Chinese friends admit they can only tell me what the miners tell them. For those of you who specialize in Chinese minerals well know, localities are often all over the place, and your guess is as good as the next person.

[Samuel]

This is another Sichuan piece. It is a Muscovite/Cassiterite combo. The specimen is 10 x 8 x 7cm, and the main Cassiterite crystal cluster is 3cm long. In the view of the other side shown in the picture on the right there is another Cassiterite crystal cluster also about 2.5cm. In fact the Cassiterite crosses the specimen diagonally from toe to tip, but much of it is obscured by “books” of Muscovite.

From Mt Xuebaoding, Pingwu County, Mianyang Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China.

[Samuel]

This is an interesting piece. One of my Chinese friends got it for me. When I first received it I thought, pretty specimen, probably Sphalerite with Quartz and Fluorite. I left it on the kitchen table for some weeks and then decided to send a portion of the metallic looking material away for analysis. To my surprise it is Stannite. I consider it a nice reference piece. It is about 11 x 6 x 4cm and hails from the Piaotang Mine, Dayu County, Ganzhou Prefecture, Jiangxi Province, China.

[Samuel]

This is a lovely piece that Jack (Lowell) got for me. He said you could see this specimen from 20 feet away and it is true. It is a beautiful galena on pyrite from the Palomo Mine, Castrovirreyna Province, Huancavelica Department, Peru. It is about 8 x 5 x 4 cm and although the individual galena crystals are not as large as in my other pieces they are brilliant and well formed.

[Samuel]

I have a few Ferberites in my collection, principally small cabinet pieces from Yaogangxian. When my Chinese friends showed the one illustrated below I was impressed, but thought not another black mineral. After about 6 weeks of procrastinating I decided to get it. It is 12 x 7 x 7 cm and is quite hefty in weight. There is some quartz present but for the most part it is a large cluster of Ferberite blades. The large one at the back is about 1.5cm thick and is about 10cm long. It hails from the Yaogangxian Mine, Yizhang County, Chenzhou Prefecture, Hunan Province, China.

[Carles Millan]

Hi Samuel!

For the FMF Minerals Gallery ( https://www.topminerals.info/ ) to work properly, everybody should fill all the File Comment boxes with, at least, the specimen's species name, and ideally, if possible, with its size and locality as well.

[Samuel]

I have a few native sulphurs in my collection and a few very large and well-developed sulphur crystal groups that I grew myself in the lab, but these Bolivian sulphurs are great in my opinion. They are relatively inexpensive and have great eye-candy appeal. Granted they do not have the “umph” of the Sicilian ones, but then again they do not carry the same price tag either. The one featured below has a nice colour and the crystals have some interesting surface textures and shapes as the inserts reveal. It is 10 x 7 x 7cm and comes from El Desierto Mine, Cerro Picoloro, Daniel Campos Province, Potosi Department, Bolivia. S8

[Samuel]

I am not a great enthusiast of what are called the gangue minerals, but the one featured below took my eye. It has a very broad and tabular quartz crystal that is associated with pale-blue and gemmy fluorite crystals. There are also some minor green crystals present too! One could also surmise that it was part of a “Japan-law” twin – pity. If the other crystal had been present I could have sold the piece to buy more sulphides and sulfosalts. It hails from the Yaogangxian Mine, Yizhang County, Chenzhou Prefecture, Hunan Province, China. It is 7 x 4 x 2 cm.

[Samuel]

In keeping with my fascination for big crystals I could not resist the one illustrated below. It is a calcite from China and the photo does not do it justice. It has a small amount of adhering matrix not shown in the photo. It is very gemmy with a pale yellow hue and is 13 x 7 x 4 cm. It is a large crystal and the edges are so sharp you could cut paper, well in my opinion at least. It hails from the Shimen Mine, Shimen County, Changde Prefecture, Hunan Province, China.

[Samuel]

This is an interesting matrix piece. It is a large and well former calcite crystal on a matrix comprising smaller calcite crystals. The large crystal has well defined edges and is sharp. Though not as “gemmy” as the previous one it is still possible to see the underlying matrix and it looks superb when back lit. The main crystal is 8 x 3.5 x 3.5 cm and it hails from the Fengjiashan Mine, Edong Mining District, Daye County, Huangshi Prefecture, Hubei Province, China.

[Samuel]

This is a pretty piece and when I got it I thought I had “hit the jackpot” as far as a stannite/arsenopyrite combo was concerned. The crystals did not look like Sphalerite, especially with that distinctive bluish tinge. However analysis soon proved it was just your common “garden-variety” Sphalerite. The specimen is 8 x 5 x 2cm and comes from Yaogangxian Mine, Yizhang County, Chenzhou Prefecture, Hunan Province, China. It makes a nice reference piece though.

[Samuel]

Featured below is a beautiful fluorite, one of the ones that are etched from quartz with HF. Again the photo does not do it justice. The crystals are vibrant green and purple with phantoms and most are very gemmy. The largest crystal is just over 2cm on edge. It hails from the De'an Mine, De'an County, Jiujiang Prefecture, Jiangxi Province, China – 14 x 10 x 6cm.

For those who have not started collecting Chinese minerals I recommend to start. Many Chinese minerals are destined to become classics. I have some pieces in my collection that are as good as some that come from the classic mines of England/USA, yet cost me a fraction of what an equivalent UK/USA piece would cost. But it will not always be so.

[Samuel]

My good friend Jack Lowell knows I am partial to sulphides and sulfosalts and when this was offered I thought, “what the heck” yes I will take it. It is Galena on what is suspected to be Wurtzite, but yet to be proven by analysis. The galena has the most unusual melted appearance. And the photo does not do it justice. It is very shiny. It comes from the San José Mine, Oruro City, Cercado Province, Oruro Department, Bolivia. It is 10 x 6 x 5 cm.

[Samuel]

Now this is an unusual piece and quite beautiful when properly lit. It is Goethite on Calcite, and there is no optical illusion - it consists of hundreds of spherical aggregates of Goethite crystals resulting in a lovely gold pin stripe effect. The Goethite has been determined by analysis. I have a few of these and on some the Goethite is associated with Pyrite. According to my geological friends this is unusual as goethite is a by-product of pyrite decomposition. It hails from Fengjiashan Mine, Edong Mining District, Daye County, Huangshi Prefecture, Hubei Province, China. However the given locality is still up for conjecture. The specimen is 8 x 7 x 5cm.

[Samuel]

I know I have already posted a picture of this but I received it in the mail today and I am very excited. I just had to take a couple of the proverbial “Kodak Moments.” For those of you who have not got one I recommend getting one. Until about a year or two ago these Martites were very expensive. From what my vendor friends have told me the Chap who had the monopoly on these Martites decided to unload all his stock and so in accordance with the rules of supply and demand, the prices dropped. As many of you know the Payun Matru Volcano is part of a National Park and collecting is now strictly forbidden, so there is no such thing as "a recent find.". The specimen is 9.4 × 7.1 × 5.5 cm, and it hails from Payún Matru Volcano, Reserva Provincial La Payunia, Malargüe Department, Mendoza Province, Argentina.

[Samuel]

Minerals are only one part of my collection. I also collect fossils and refined elements. Featured below is a picture of a gift I received recently. It is refined Lead (99.97%), Zinc (>99.9%) and Silver (99.99%). The silver ingot is 6.5 x 1.5 x 1.5cm, and so gives you an idea of the size of the other elements. I also have representative examples of Gold, Beryllium and Silicon and soon hope to have representative examples of all the metallic elements. The very reactive elements of group 1 like Potassium and especially Rubidium must be kept in sealed vials under oil.

[Samuel]

This is a beautiful Bulgarian Pyrite, and before I forget this and the other Bulgarian pieces I have posted so far were purchased from Dick Ertel at very competitive prices. Dick is a great “bloke” and some might know that for a time he was handling the collection of the late Gary Grenier. This is a Gary Grenier piece as were the others I have so far displayed. It brings home the fact that as far as our collections are concerned, we are mere custodians, painstakingly assembling minerals for future generations of enthusiasts.

The specimens hails from Gyudyurska Mine, Zlatograd, Sth Rhodope Mts, Smolyan Oblast, Bulgaria. It is 10 x 8 x 6cm and the largest pyrite is about 4.5cm. It is a beautiful piece and my poor photographic skill do not do it justice.

[Samuel]

I do have a few American minerals and I hope to acquire a few more. The one shown below is Sphalerite, variety “Ruby Jack.” It hails from the Elmwood Mine, Carthage, Smith County, Tennessee, USA. It is 8 x 6 x 6 cm and quite lustrous. Regrettably the picture does not do it justice. Included is a macro of the crystals on the left hand side of the piece.

[Samuel]

This is one of the few Australian minerals I have. It is Atacamite. I do not collect many Australian minerals, and though the country is rich in mineral wealth it is very poor in display quality minerals. Most of the good material from Broken Hill, Burra Burra and Red Dome are locked away in private collections or museums. Apart from those lovely Crocoites from Tasmania and those over-priced Azurites from the Northern Territory there is little on offer. As far as sulphides and sulfosalts are concerned there is nothing to compare with the material from China, Bolivia, Bulgaria or Peru – in my opinion of course. Atacamite, 10 x 7 x 3 cm, Cattlegrid Mine, Mt Gunson, Andamooka Ranges, South Australia, Australia.

[Samuel]

This is an interesting piece and one of my favourite minerals – Tetrahedrite. The picture on the left shows the beautiful crystal cluster and on the right something of its paragenesis. The yellow is fine grained pyrite. The picture in the middle is a macro shot. Just look how sharp and well formed the crystals are – you could cut paper with them I think. It hails from the Casapalca Mine, Casapalca, Huarochiri Province, Lima Department, Peru. It is 11 x 8 x 4 cm.