FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Casimir Sarisky]

Hello, I am a novice collector that recently started my collection several months ago. I am interested in Fluorite, Pyrite, and Schorl Tourmaline specimens.

I do not have the vast disposable income to buy specimens that cost above $1k and beyond, but I hope to soon buy a spectacular specimen as the "flagship" of my collection. Hopefully it will be a colorful fluorite in pristine condition.

[prcantos]

Welcome to FMF, Pavel and Casimir.

[NellsRocks]

Hello all

I am a very new newbie. A few years ago I discovered that the house my boyfriend’s parents rented up in Maine had access to a small “beach” with some nifty rocks scattered around. I would bring a couple home each year. I also found myself bringing home “pretty rocks” I found here and there for my flower garden.

Then, one day, while railfanning in MA, I found some rocks with garnets. Ever so slowly, I became curious about these rocks I had. I bought 2 books and attempted to understand what they were trying to teach me. That led me to the Internet, where I got to see some nifty specimens. I also found that all the cool examples cost a LOT!!!

Soon I was scouring Ebay for stuff, and while I found a lot I liked, I just couldn’t afford much. I finally scored a nice blue fluorite example and it felt pretty nice to finally have something that wasn’t found on the ground by accident.

By accident, I ran across the show Prospectors on The Weather Channel and got to see just how some minerals are actually found.

Now, thanks to all the above, when I am out and about I look at the ground… like an idiot. I really don’t know what I am doing, after all. Being a railfan, I tend to be around a lot of crushed rocks, too!

One thing I have found as a beginner, is that it isn’t as easy as I expected to find out about local minerals. I did pick up a book about New England locations, but most are not open to the public. The only one near me that I actually got to go to and found something at is the town forest in Lancaster MA, where I found some Chiastolite. Found some today, in fact!

I also have other hobbies… in fact, the last thing I need is ANOTHER HOBBY!!!!

And that is me. Pretty much... in a nutshell... sorta...

:-)

[prcantos]

Welcome to FMF and enjoy your new hobby!

[Pierre Joubert]

To all the newcomers, a hearty welcome from a cold and wet Western Cape, South Africa. I am sure you will benefit tremendously from this forum as we have all had.

[Braydonw]

Hello all,

My name is Braydon, and a newbie to the forum. I'm 16 years old, live in Australia, and have been interested in rocks for quite a little while (specifically mineral specimens more recently).

When I was younger (7 or 8) and was exploring the bush-land opposite our house, I found etched gem quartz fragments and occasionally crystal points. This first sparked my interest in minerals, and lead me and my dad to fossicking for gem sapphires in central Queensland as of late.

I'm fairly limited to specimens I can purchase as my funds are only those coming from my casual job, however, occasionally manage to snag specimens from online mineral auctions for a good price. I'm particularly interested in specimens/crystals with pseudomorphs, twinning, good sized crystals (just as long as you don't need a microscope to see them!) or are just plain rare for their form or quality, regardless of whether or not they are "black uglies" or aesthetic (always a bonus!).

[John Betts]

How many registered members are there on the FMF?

[Pierre Joubert]

[Jordi Fabre]

[Robert Seitz]

Greetings. My name is Bob & my profession is mineral processing. I have been working with minerals and collecting them since the mid-1970s.

My collection is focused on ore minerals. A fraction of my collection is more representative of the rocks and minerals I've been involved with processing. However, most of my collection is specimens of the valuable and gangue minerals in ores.

I have been enjoying the posted pictures from various collections & will be posting pictures soon.

Regards,

[chris]

Hi Bob,

Welcome to FMF. You are lucky to live in a paradise state for mineral collectors. Hope you'll enjoy sharing with us.

Christophe

[Pierre Joubert]

Hi Bob. Welcome to the forum! I am looking forward to what you have to show and share.

[Philippe Durand]

Hello

I am a lover of minerals. I have been collecting for 40 years.
I have never been involved in mineralogy or geology as a professional.

My collection is quite small, and is centered on different topics such as quartz, fluorite or metallic ore minerals. I collect minerals as best as possible that I can afford (not talking of high end minerals) principally in the small cabinet range.

I have discovered your forum today, and I am hooked: a lot of nice minerals, information,
and passion.

I will post pictures of the minerals that can be seen here.

Philippe

[Don Lum]

Welcome to The Forum, Bob and Philippe.

Don

[Tobi]

[SoCalDesertFox]

It's hot in the desert!

Hey everyone! Just a SoCal avid rockhound and minor miner. I love hunting down garnet and tourmalines, and on occasion like to do some hard rock mining!

Hope to stick around!

[prcantos]

Welcome to FMF!

[Don Lum]

Welcome to the Forum.

Don

[Mike Wood]

Hi and welcome to the Fiends of Minerals Forum, SoCalDesert Fox!
I hope you do manage to stick around, your destructive testing techniques are quite refreshing. I used to do flame colour tests and borax bead tests, when I was young and keen; I remember having a copy of Vogel's Qualitative Analysis and trying to do chemistry tests.
I guess you are probably not the type to be put off easily, so I hope you can get into the groove, as it were, of this forum ;-)
Cheers,
Mike

[jessgagnon]

Hello,
My name is Jess,
I'm relatively new to exploring minerals and crystals. I'm very much looking forward to exploring the forum. i don't have a lot of knowledge yet, but when i fall in love with something i've been known to become quite obsessed on the subject...that's how I feel about crystal and mineral specimens right now.
my interest in minerals started with my love of jewelry making. I make a lot of pieces out of raw stones purchased from etsy and ebay mainly as a hobby for the time being. My instagram handle is lomochic if you'd like to take a look. I don't sell anything right now, but I was thinking of starting. :)

I've amassed quite a large collection of small crystals, my favorites being the Ethiopian Opal and rough moonstone that i've made studs with.

I really love history and there's a certain romanticism about phantom quartz and dendrite opal that really gets to me:) I'm seriously contemplating joining my local lapidary and gem club so i can learn more about the areas close by. there's something about exploring for shiny minerals and pretty rocks in the dirt that makes me feel kind of like a child again.


looking forward to getting to know all of you!