TC01 Gaudefroyite on Garnet var. Andradite

N'Chwaning II Mine, Kalahari Manganese Fields, Northern Cape Province, South Africa

16.8x 10.9x 9.8 cm

$2000

A exceptional large cabinet gaudeforyite from the Kalahari manganese fields.  This piece is richly covered with terminated gaudefroyite crystals, the largest reaching 1.4 cm.

The gaudefroyite crystals lie on a matrix composed of bright red andradite garnets, and when displayed from the angle shown at right, the red matrix and black gaudefroyite shows beautiful contrast.

Good gaudefroyite is nearly impossible to obtain today, and large matrix specimens such as this one are rarely encountered.  This one was kept in storage in South Africa for years, until being brought to Tucson where I acquired it.

TC02 Pyrochlore

Vishnevogorsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Southern Urals, Russia

8.0x 5.7x 3.7 cm

$600

In the mid 1990's, there was a spectacular find of lustrous pyrocholre at Vishnevogorsk.  This locality is well known for the size of the pyrochlore crystals that it has produced at other times, though this particular find was notable fur the luster and richness of the matrix pyrochlores that it produced.

One dealer at Tucson this year have about 8 of them held over from the original find, and I chose the best one.  A couple of the crystals are missing bits (virtually every single specimen from the find suffered some damage, as the pyrochlore was exceptionally brittle) though it does not affect the display.  Much better in person!  It is hard to make out the distinct crystals in the images, which is one reason why I included extra close-ups.  

TC03 Azurite with Duftite

Tsumeb Mine, Otjikoto Region, Namibia

6.7x 6.3x 4.7 cm

$325

A cabinet specimen coated with a layer of grass green duftite, and hosting numerous terminated blue azurites.  A beautiful specimen from a classic locality.

TC04 Smithsonite

Tsumeb Mine, Otjikoto Region, Namibia

3.8x 3.4x 2.9 cm

$135

A nice miniature specimen, richly covered with terminated, gemmy smithsonite crystals.  A classic!

TC05 Germanite

Tsumeb Mine, Otjikoto Region, Namibia

5.2x 3.8x 2.3 cm

$225

A rich example of this rare germanium mineral, showing a large quantity of purplish germanite in matrix with sphalerite.

Germanium was first isolated from this species; today the element is playing a key role in semi-conductor research, and its compounds are at the center of research into super-conductors.

TC06 Germanite

Tsumeb Mine, Otjikoto Region, Namibia

5.5x 4.4x 3.6 cm

$285

A rich example of this rare germanium mineral, showing a large quantity of purplish germanite in matrix with sphalerite.

Germanium was first isolated from this species; today the element is playing a key role in semi-conductor research, and its compounds are at the center of research into super-conductors.

TC07 Silver

Balcoll Mine, Falset, Priorat, Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain

7.4x 4.2x 2.3 cm

$450

A rare Spanish silver specimen from a recent find at an ancient mine that was first explored in the middle ages.  This cabinet specimen has numerous dendrites on a carbonate based matrix, and is a beautiful, and reasonably large example from the find.

One dealer had these in Tucson (at very expensive prices) but I was actually able to get some from the source prior to the show.

TC08 Silver

Balcoll Mine, Falset, Priorat, Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain

4.8x 3.9x 2.3 cm

$450

A rare Spanish silver specimen from a recent find at an ancient mine that was first explored in the middle ages.  This specimen has numerous dendrites on a carbonate based matrix, and is a beautiful, and particularly example from the find.

One dealer had these in Tucson (at very expensive prices) but I was actually able to get a some from the source prior to the show.

TC09 Silver

Balcoll Mine, Falset, Priorat, Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain

5.0x 3.1x 2.8 cm

$385

A rare Spanish silver specimen from a recent find at an ancient mine that was first explored in the middle ages.  This specimen has numerous dendrites on a carbonate based matrix, and is a beautiful, and particularly example from the find.

One dealer had these in Tucson (at very expensive prices) but I was actually able to get a some from the source prior to the show.

TC10 Silver

Balcoll Mine, Falset, Priorat, Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain

3.0x 2.7x 3.0 cm

$135

A rare Spanish silver specimen from a recent find at an ancient mine that was first explored in the middle ages.  This specimen has numerous dendrites on a carbonate based matrix, and is a beautiful, and particularly example from the find.

One dealer had these in Tucson (at very expensive prices) but I was actually able to get a some from the source prior to the show.

TC11 Galena

Auguste-Victoria Mine, Marl-Hüls, Recklinghausen, Ruhr Coal Mining area, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

8.0x 4.1x 2.6 cm

$225

No, this is not from Oklahoma or Missouri.  This galena is a classic, from an ancient German mine that continues to operate to this day.

The crystals are sharp and on matrix, and are a beautiful example of the species with no damage.

TC12 Hausmannite pseudo. after Manganite 
Ilfeld, Harz Mountains, Germany

3.5x 3.4x 2.0 cm

$250

A rare pseudomorph of hausmannite after manganite, from the classic locality at Ilfeld.  These  pseudos are very difficult to obtain, and I have only seen a couple similar pieces for sale.

This specimen is composed of a cluster of elongated, terminated  manganite crystals that have been completely replaced by hausmannite.

TC13 Arsenic ps. Silver, with Proustite

Schlema, Erzgebirge, Saxony, Germany

7.5x 3.3x 2.4 cm

$185

A large mass of arsenic from a classic German locality.  You can see the traces of silver dendrites that were either dissolved away, or replaced by arsenic.  The silver may be gone, but there is still a small area containing microcrystals of the red Ag mineral proustite.

TC14 Stibarsen 
Příbram, Central Bohemia Region, Bohemia, Czech Republic

7.6x 5.2x 3.1 cm

$175

An exceptional cabinet specimen of bubbly stibarsen from the Czech Republic.  Stibarsen does not come up for sale terribly often, and this specimen is particularly rich.

TC15 Safflorite
Erzgebirge, Saxony, Germany

5.1x 4.6x 5.2 cm

$90

A rare German safflorite specimen, with numerous bright safflorite crystals on matrix. Much better in person.

TC16 Pyromorphite on Galena

Broken Hill Mine, Yarcowinna Co., NSW, Australia

5.1x 2.3x 2.5 cm

$285

Broken Hill has produced many "interesting pyromorphites," and this piece is no exception.  It consists of a galena matrix, whose surface has partially alrered to pyromorphite, with a second generation of galena crystals, whose surfaces have also altered to pyromorphite.

A very beautiful and odd example from the mine, for the collector of pyromorphite or Broken Hill minerals.

TC17 Pyromorphite

Haus Braunschweig Mine, Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Harz, Germany

5.5x 4.7x 2.7 cm

$375

Another weird pyromorphite, this one from a classic German locality.  It is basically a round rock, about 2/3 covered with a layer of bubbly green pyromorphite.  This is a very unique specimen... it almost looks like moss on a rock.

TC18 Khaidarkanite

Khaidarkan  Sb-Hg deposit, Fergana Valley, Osh District, Kyrgyzstan
7.1x 4.6x 3.7 cm

$350

A rare specimen of khaidarkanite from the type locality.  Even more unusual is its size-- cabinet specimens of the species are rarely encountered (but its not like there much of the stuff available in any size to begin with...)

TC19 Pyromorphite

Black Star Open Cut, Mt. Isa, Queensland, Australia

11.0x 4.3x 2.4 cm

A cabinet specimen from this classic locality for Australian pyromorphite.  This specimen boasts a rich coverage of large prismatic pyromorphite barrels, to 1.2 cm.  

A top example for the locality, with virtually no damage. 

TC20 Sturmanite

N'Chwaning II Mine, Kalahari Manganese Fields, Northern Cape Province, South Africa

4.05x 0.6x 0.4 cm

$135

An elongated and terminated sturmanite crystal unearthed from the Kalahari manganese fields in the 1980's.  

This piece is very translucent; I would almost call it transparent, except that inclusions prevent it from being see-through.

You may be familiar with the brighter yellow specimens from this same area.  Those date to the 1990's and later; darker specimens such as this one and the piece below were unearthed during the preceding decade. 

TC21 Sturmanite

N'Chwaning II Mine, Kalahari Manganese Fields, Northern Cape Province, South Africa

3.4x 0.7x 0.5 cm

$135

An elongated and terminated sturmanite crystal unearthed from the Kalahari manganese fields in the 1980's.  

This piece is very translucent; I would almost call it transparent, except that inclusions prevent it from being see-through.

You may be familiar with the brighter yellow specimens from this same area.  Those date to the 1990's and later; darker specimens such as this one and the piece above were unearthed during the preceding decade.

TC22 Lazulite

Lalia Base Camp, Gilgit, Pakistan

1.7x 1.5x 1.0 cm

$295

Believe it or not, one of the hardest Pakistani minerals to get is lazuLite from the Lalia Base Camp. 

This is not to be confused with lazuRite, which is relatively abundant and comes from neighboring Afghanistan.

I discovered two in Tucson while searching through flats piled underneath one dealer's table (this is the better of the two.)  The crystal is terminated, and shows good faces and form.

This is only the second time I have been able to acquire this material, the last time was in 2005 at a shop in northern Pakistan where I happened upon a single crystal.

I saw one of these go up for sale online just after the show.  The price was $1500, and it was comparable to this one....

TC23 Lazulite

Lalia Base Camp, Gilgit, Pakistan

2.0x 1.7x 1.4 cm

$80

Like the above, except not showing as well defined form.  In the bottom left image you can see a couple faces, but this piece would probably be better as gem rough, or as a reference specimen of the material.

TC24 Garnet var. Uvarovite
Mokkivaara Mine, Outokumpu  Finland

1.1x 1.0x 1.0 cm

$185

A classic specimen from the find that produced some of the world's best uvarovite crystals.

 Although most of the uvarovite available today comes in the form of crusts of microcrystals from the Urals, in the 1960's this Finnish locality produced some of the largest crystals of this rare garnet ever recovered.  This one shows good faces and color, and provides a very rare opportunity to obtain a specimen from this decades old find, at a very reasonable price.

TC25 Turquoise and Wavellite
Palazuelo de las Cuevas, Zamora, Castile and Leon, Spain

4.1x 2.9x 3.0 cm

$88

A rare specimen of turquoise on wavellite from Spain.  Turquoise from this locality is unique in that it is reasonably well crystallized, though the crystals are smaller than those from the Lynch Station, Virginia locality.

The microcrystals are easier to discern on the reverse of the specimen--those coating the wavellite are too closely spaced, though even the close-ups below show some degree of crystallization.