Mixed Minerals!

Multiple vividly pink cobaltian calcite crystals on matrix, from recent finds in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  I had seen a few crystals popping up with Chinese vendors with connections to the Congolese mines, then several months later there was a bit more scattered among several vendors in Saint Marie. I personally found this to be the most exciting find of the show--the last time these were found in good quality was the 1980's.

A large and very sculptural example of octahedral pyrite from older finds at the Huanzala Mine.  This things is at least 10 years old-- while most pyrite specimens kind of blend together, over many trips to Peru one starts to recognize pieces from certain notable pockets.  This one has a main cluster with a larger, centrally positioned crystal standing up nicely. A bit of damage to some of the side crystals, though I still feel this is an exceptional pyrite from this prolific locality-- the size, the octahedrons, and the position of the main crystals really do set this one apart. 

An interesting specimen from a new find, this piece consists of a sizable brownish kutnohorite crystal with a cap of white calcite. Some scuffs on the calcite, though still quite aesthetic-- this is one of those pieces with such a strange shape that it seems to blur the line between a mineral and something organic, in terms of visual appearance. 

A spectacular and highly sought after example of fluorite from the Shangbao Mine.  Despite the abundance of Chinese fluorite, Shangbao is one of the few localities that has continued to decrease in availability.  This is a particularly good example of the "old style" from the mine, before the more spherical cubooctahedrons were discovered.  This one has a bluish crystal with very clear purple phantoms, on a nicely contrasting matrix covered with white calcite. 

A large cabinet specimen from the Huaron Mine, not to be confused with the more common Huanzala material.  This is an older specimen, certainly one of the better ones I've seen from this location in many years. This was one of the classic Peruvian specimen mines, notable for its quartz/sulfide combinations-- but even when i started visiting Peru 16 years ago, specimen production was already in decline.  Today, large plates like this are exceedingly uncommon.

A really nice galena from Bulgaria-- great luster, great form, but I feel that the siderite "outlines" are what sets this one apart.   

A very large specimen of epidote with quartz and axinite, from Peru. This is another one of those specimens that seems to blur the line between mineral and organic material-- the green epidote really looks like moss mixed in with quartz or bark-like axinite. 

A nice example of cubo-octahedral fluorite on calcite, from the Shangbao Mine in China's Hunan Province. 

A rich example of pink cobaltian calcite crystals from recent finds in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  I had seen a few crystals popping up with Chinese vendors with connections to the Congolese mines, then several months later there was a bit more scattered among several vendors in Saint Marie. I personally found this to be the most exciting find of the show--the last time these were found in good quality was the 1980's.

A really big, barrel shaped calcite sitting nicely on matrix. Complete all around, there are only a couple very tiny, minor scuffs on the whole thing-- quite remarkable for the size.  It seems like the later generation of milkier calcite grow over an earlier crystal-- you can see little differently-colored "windows" on the centers of some of the faces.  I really like the layout of this one-- would look good on a custom base. 

A nice example of pyrite from recent finds in China's Fujian Province.  The secondary crystal has iridescent pyrite on the center of the main face.  Not perfect but in better condition than the vast majority of these, and the overall arrangement of the crystals is particularly nice. 

A nice example of pyrite from recent finds in China's Fujian Province.  Couple very tiny chips, though in better condition than the vast majority of these, and the overall arrangement is particularly nice. 

An beautiful example of bright pyrite with quartz from the Huaron Mine.  From the more prolific Huanzala mine this would be a good specimen, but being from Huaron makes it considerably more special-- this is an old mine that has not produced much in years.  Exceptionally lustrous crystals, one has a some of oxidation but I deliberately left it-- I kind of liked the reminder of how these things are originally found. 

A nice example of stibnite from the Quruvilca Mine.  This thing is at least 10-15 years old, the mine has not produced any specimens since the early 2010's. I do particularly like the spray-like shape of this piece, living in China I still see quite a bit of stibnite but it's interesting to not the difference in habit between the various mines at pockets here, and these old Peruvian pieces. 

An old example of dark brown sphalerite on blady white barite, from Peru.  Another piece from at least 10-15 years ago, from a location that no longer produces specimens.  The floral appearance of some of the barite is rather nice, and I also like the contrast between the white and brown. 

A nice example of scheelite with very transparent quartz, from finds made several years ago at the Mundo Nuevo Mine.  At the time this was primarily a specimen recovery project, the bulk of what was found was hubnerite, though there were also a number of these very distinctive brown scheelites.  This one has a stacked cluster od scheelite crystals, very typical of this locality. 

A colorful specimen from the Chilean copper mines, this one hosts a combination of malachite, brochantite and linarite in a vug, with an added sparkle imparted by a drusy quartz overgrowth. 

A rich example of acanthite on matrix, from the Uchucchacua Mine, perhaps best known for its rhodochrosite scalenohedrons. In addition to those rhodochrosites, the mine also produces a number of silver minerals (it is primarily a silver mine) and even has one species named after it.  This is a particularly rich matrix specimen, as with many of the Peruvian minerals in this update, this was found at least 10-15 years ago... almost no specimens come from this mine now. 

A nice example of this classic combination of native elements from Germany.

A nice example of cinnabar, featuring a dark drillbit twin centrally positioned on a matrix of lustrous quartz and dolomite crystals.

A nice example of cinnabar, featuring a hexagonal crystal centrally positioned on a dolomite matrix.

A pretty miniature sized example of moss-like epidote with a bit of quartz and axinite. A bought a fair amount of these in the smaller sizes, though I only picked this one for the update-- it just has a more pleasing shape and visual balance. 

An excellent example of a skeletal galena on sphalerite from Peru. At first glance you might think this was Bulgarian, but it is in fact an old piece from Huaron-- these things have not been found in years, this was part of an old stash of Huaron pieces that I was lucky to come across. 

An nice example of a skeletal galena on chalcopyrite from Peru. At first glance you might think this was Bulgarian, but it is in fact an old piece from Huaron-- these things have not been found in years, this was part of an old stash of Huaron pieces that I was lucky to come across. 

An excellent example of a thumbnail sized skeletal galena from Peru. At first glance you might think this was Bulgarian, but it is in fact an old piece from Huaron-- these things have not been found in years, this was part of an old stash of Huaron pieces that I was lucky to come across.  There is just something very satisfying aboutt he geometry of this piece. 

A very bright and lustrous example of chlcopyrite with pyrite and sphalerite on quartz, from old finds at the Huaron Mine.  This is a particularly crisp looking piece, between the top luster of the various sulfides to the transparency of the underlying quartz.  This piece, like a number of those in this update, come from a past time when Peru's most prolific specimen producing mines were still operational-- today the once abundant sulfides  have become somewhat scarce there, with the exception of perhaps pyrite from Huanzala. 

An unusual specimen from a recent find somewhere in Fujian province, this is a plate of brown quartz crystals sprinkled with hundreds of bright little pyrite crystals. It makes for quite a unique appearance, I can't recall seeing similar pieces from another location. 

A very sculptural cluster of octahedral pyrite crystals from the Huanzala mine in Peru. 

A decently sized example of a classic malachite (and i think I also see some bits of blue azurite surface alteration) after cuprite pseudomorph,  from Chessy.

A thumbnail sized crystal of mimetite from one of the most iconic Chinese finds of the early 2000's.  These came out for a very short period in 2003; amidst the backdrop of seemingly endless pyromorphite, I think people thought these too would come out in endless quantities-- there was certainly enough supply during the 2004 Tucson show to believe that would be the case.  But the discovery was quickly worked through, and now there is probably more of this material outside China than inside the country. This is a sizable crystal from the find-- one side shows a skeletal growth pattern. A bit of chipping, still an excellent example for the price. 

A pretty little calcite "mushroom" from Yunnan. Much of southern china is covered with various karst formations-- from the jagged mountains seen in classic Chinese watercolor paintings (Guilin), to the backdrop from Avatar (Hunan).  That dissolved limestone goes somewhere though-- and some ends up as pretty formations in caves and caverns. Walking into specialty shops you can find examples 2 stories high that they somehow manage to extract and preserve, but I thought this was considerably more manageable, and cute in its own way. 

A pretty calcite formation from Yunnan. Much of southern china is covered with various karst formations-- from the jagged mountains seen in classic Chinese watercolor paintings (Guilin), to the backdrop from Avatar (Hunan).  That dissolved limestone goes somewhere-- and some ends up as pretty formations in caves and caverns. Walking into specialty shops you can find examples 2 stories high that they somehow manage to extract and preserve, this one is a bit more manageable.  I liked the two parallel growths, and the daisy-like formations on the ends.  The back is sawn, and looking closely you also see some trimming on the top right-- still I thought the formation was quite beautiful, and despite the otherwise bland color, because of the beauty of the formation it still manages to hold its own in a case beside more colorful specimens.  Stands up on its own, though would also look good in a custom base. 

A nice example of crystaline acanthite from finds made nearly 2 decades ago at the Hongda Mine, in Shanxi Province. To date these are considered the best acanthites to have been found in the country-- this one is a decently sized skeletal cluster.

A nice example of crystaline acanthite ON MATRIX from finds made nearly 2 decades ago at the Hongda Mine, in Shanxi Province. To date these are considered the best acanthites to have been found in the country-- this one has an unusually sharp crystal on matrix-- almost all of these are just acanthite, or there are just some crystals visible on more massive acanthite-- despite the lack of color contrast, i still thought it was interesting to see one like this.