FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Carles Millan]

Copper

A single crystal of copper pseudomorph of aragonite on a thin matrix of copper. Some experts in Bolivian minerals believe that it is actually copper after calcite after aragonite. Overall size: 38 mm x 35 mm. Copper crystal: 12 mm tall, 19 mm wide. Weight: 15 g. From a recent find.

The lesser width that can be seen in the central part of the hexagonal prism must be attributed to a stretch in the crystal structure caused by the smaller volume of the copper atoms compared with the original carbonate and calcium ions.

San Agustín Mine, Corocoro, Pacajes Province, La Paz Department, Bolivia.

Photos copyright © Carles Millan. Reproduction allowed as long as the author's name is cited. Creative Commons Attribution Licence - Some Rights Reserved.

[Carles Millan]

(Old specimen, better photos)

Scheelite, beryl, muscovite

Group with a tetragonal-pyramidal {111} scheelite crystal and several colorless and transparent beryl crystals with tabular habit on a matrix of crystalized muscovite. Undamaged. Overall size: 102 mm x 70 mm. Scheelite size: 23 mm on edge, 47 mm high (estimated). Main beryl size: 24 mm wide. Weight: 336 g.

The beryl crystals are perfect but, because of their complete transparency and lack of color, getting a decent photo of them seems to be very difficult.

Xuebaoding, Huya, Pingwu, Mianyang, Sichuan, China.

Photos copyright © Carles Millan. Reproduction allowed as long as the author's name is cited. Creative Commons Attribution Licence - Some Rights Reserved.

My Personal Site

---

6659M-scheelite3.jpg
Description:	Scheelite, beryl, muscovite Xuebaoding, Huya, Pingwu, Mianyang, Sichuan, China 102 mm x 70 mm
Viewed:	32524 Time(s)

---

---

6659M-scheelite2.jpg
Description:	Scheelite, beryl, muscovite Xuebaoding, Huya, Pingwu, Mianyang, Sichuan, China 102 mm x 70 mm
Viewed:	32426 Time(s)

---

---

6659M-scheelite4.jpg
Description:	Scheelite, beryl, muscovite Xuebaoding, Huya, Pingwu, Mianyang, Sichuan, China 102 mm x 70 mm
Viewed:	32461 Time(s)

---

---

6659M-scheelite1.jpg
Description:	Scheelite, beryl, muscovite Xuebaoding, Huya, Pingwu, Mianyang, Sichuan, China 102 mm x 70 mm
Viewed:	32512 Time(s)

---

---

6659M-scheelite6.jpg
Description:	Scheelite, beryl, muscovite Xuebaoding, Huya, Pingwu, Mianyang, Sichuan, China 102 mm x 70 mm
Viewed:	32471 Time(s)

---

---

6659MC-scheelite5.jpg
Description:	Scheelite, beryl, muscovite Xuebaoding, Huya, Pingwu, Mianyang, Sichuan, China 102 mm x 70 mm Beryl crystals close up view
Viewed:	32464 Time(s)

---

[GneissWare]

Carles,
I took one of your photos and adjusted the highlights and shadows using the tone map. These are hard to photograph. It takes a lot of light to get the scheelite and then the beryls are over-exposed. Since I haven't seen the specimen in person, I can't tell if this is right.

Hope this helps.
Bob

[Carles Millan]

[Carles Millan]

Tourmaline (schorl)

This is just a complement to a previous post published here on July 22nd, 2009, where you will find the whole details.

Photos copyright © Carles Millan. Reproduction allowed as long as the author's name is cited and the image not modified. Creative Commons Attribution Licence - Some Rights Reserved.

[chris]

Hi Carles,

Impressive collection. May I ask you how many specimens you have, as it seems unlimited...

Christophe

[Carles Millan]

[Carles Millan]

(Old specimen, better photos)

Calcite, fluorite

Transparent mostly colorless scalenohedral calcite crystal, doubly terminated, with a small breccia matrix and a single purple cubic {100} fluorite crystal. Complete all around with minor sphalerite on the base. Overall size: 136 mm x 85 mm x 46 mm. Calcite crystal: 136 mm in length. Fluorite crystal: 18 mm on edge. Weight: 351 g. Field collected by Don Belsher in 1998.

Elmwood mine, Carthage, Central Tennessee Ba-F-Pb-Zn District, Smith Co., Tennessee, USA.

Photos copyright © Carles Millan. Reproduction allowed as long as the author's name is cited and the image not modified. Creative Commons Attribution Licence - Some Rights Reserved.

[Tobi]

I'm always amazed how decent and humble Carles is when it's about his rocks! ;-) Carles, no need for this, your collection pleases everyone here. And if you wanna get rid of some of your "decent" rocks - i'll give you my address :-)

[Carles Millan]

[Carles Millan]

Helvite (or helvine), andradite

Two intergrown, extremely sharp, bright and slightly translucent dark brown color, tetrahedral crystals of helvite, with some small andradite crystals. A thumbnail. Overall size: 23 mm x 20 mm. Major tetrahedral edge: 23 mm. Weight: 7 g. Complete all around. No damage.

Huanggang Mine, Hexigten Banner, Ulanhad League, Chifeng, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China.

Photos copyright © Carles Millan. Reproduction allowed as long as the author's name is cited and the image not modified. Creative Commons Attribution Licence - Some Rights Reserved.

[Carles Millan]

Epidote

A very uncommon habit for this species. A tabular pseudo-hexagonal crystal of epidote, that seems to be a floater, showing opaque dark green color with rather bright faces in what might be two well developed pinacoids. The lateral faces, these with a rough surface, are not six but eight, since two opposite sides (hardly seen in the photo 8101M-epidote2.jpg) have two faces instead of one, making the whole crystal look like the typical habit of the augite, without being exactly the same in spite of both species sharing the monoclinic crystal system. Overall size: 67 mm x 62 mm x 26 mm. Crystal thickness: 12 mm. Weight: 123 g. From a find of year 2011.

Raywoo mine, Quetta district, Balochistan (Baluchistan), Pakistan.

Photos copyright © Carles Millan. Reproduction allowed as long as the author's name is cited and the image not modified. Creative Commons Attribution Licence - Some Rights Reserved.

[Tobi]

[Carles Millan]

(Old specimen, better photos)

Rutile, hematite

Three groups of long acicular crystals of golden rutile, fully exposed, forming angles of 60º with each other and radiating outwards from a base of shiny metallic hematite. Overall size: 65 mm x 55 mm. From a find of years 2003-2004.

Novo Horizonte, Bahia, Brazil.

Photos copyright © Carles Millan. Reproduction allowed as long as the author's name is cited and the image not modified. Creative Commons Attribution Licence - Some Rights Reserved.

[Carles Millan]

(Old specimen, better photos)

Fluorite, ferberite, arsenopyrite, mica

Miniature group of ferberite on (and in) purple almost transparent cubic {100} fluorite with several arsenopyrite crystals (visible in the bottom) and some mica. Overal size: 37 mm x 37 mm. Fluorite crystal size: 37 mm wide x 30 mm tall x 22 mm deep. Ferberite crystal size: 37 mm tall x 22 mm wide. Weight: 76 g. The ferberite crystal being partially inside the fluorite indicates that the latter grew after the former.

Yaogangxian Mine, Yaogangxian W-Sn ore field, Yizhang Co., Chenzhou Prefecture, Hunan Province, China.

Photos copyright © Carles Millan. Reproduction allowed as long as the author's name is cited and the image not modified. Creative Commons Attribution Licence - Some Rights Reserved.

[Tobi]

Really amazing Yaogangxian specimen, Carles!

[Carles Millan]

(Old specimen, better photos)

Hematite, rutile

Metallic black hematite crystals showing a hexagonal tabular habit accompanied by acicular crystals of golden rutile set upon the surface. Overall size: 74 mm x 50 mm. Main hematite crystal: about 53 mm long, 35 mm wide, 8 mm thick. Weight: 140 g.

Another specimen of rutile and hematite from the same locality can be seen here.

Novo Horizonte, Bahia, Brazil.

This specimen is no longer in my collection.

Photos copyright © Carles Millan. Reproduction allowed as long as the author's name is cited and the image not modified. Creative Commons Attribution Licence - Some Rights Reserved.

[Carles Millan]

(Old specimen, better photos)

Pyromorphite

Cluster of barrel shaped, apple green, pyromorphite crystals without matrix. Overall size: 71 mm x 44 mm x 38 mm. Individual crystals up to 10 mm long. Weight: 202 g. Soon to be a classic.

Daoping Mine, Gongcheng, Guilin, Guangxi, China.

Other specimens of pyromorphite from the same locality can be seen here and here.

Photos copyright © Carles Millan. Reproduction allowed as long as the author's name is cited and the image not modified. Creative Commons Attribution Licence - Some Rights Reserved.

[Carles Millan]

(Old specimen, better photos)

Fluorite, quartz, arsenopyrite

Aesthetic combination of fluorite, quartz and arsenopyrite crystals. Overall size: 54 mm x 47 mm. Fluorite crystal: 22 mm wide. Weight: 71 g.

Yaogangxian Mine, Yizhang, Chenzhou, Hunan, China.

Another specimen of fluorite from the same locality can be seen here.

Photos copyright © Carles Millan. Reproduction allowed as long as the author's name is cited and the image not modified. Creative Commons Attribution Licence - Some Rights Reserved.

My Personal Site

---

3188M-fluorite1.jpg
Description:	Fluorite, quartz, arsenopyrite Yaogangxian Mine, Yizhang, Chenzhou, Hunan, China 54 mm x 47 mm
Viewed:	31503 Time(s)

---

---

3188M-fluorite2.jpg
Description:	Fluorite, quartz, arsenopyrite Yaogangxian Mine, Yizhang, Chenzhou, Hunan, China 54 mm x 47 mm
Viewed:	31533 Time(s)

---

[Carles Millan]

(Old specimen, better photos)

Apatite, beryl, muscovite

This may not be a great specimen but shows as a distinctive feature an association of apatite and beryl that is quite uncommon in Mount Xuebaoding.

A pale pink translucent tabular apatite crystal measuring 17 mm across set on a muscovite matrix with an almost colorless transparent tabular beryl crystal, better in person, measuring 19 mm wide edge to edge. No damage in any of both crystals. Overall specimen size: 67 x 45 x 28 mm³. Weight: 55 g. There are two additional smaller apatite crystals, hard to spot in the photos.

Huya W-Sn-Be deposit (Pingwu beryl mine), Huya village, Mt Xuebaoding, Pingwu Co., Mianyang Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China.

Photos copyright © Carles Millan. Reproduction allowed as long as the author's name is cited and the image not modified. Creative Commons Attribution Licence - Some Rights Reserved.