Australia
5729 Hoganite, Cerussite, Malachite, Broken Hill, New South Wales
Sharp blue-green micro crystals of hoganite on cerussite and malachite. Colour is more green than shown in the photos. Width of view 3.5mm. Exact source of specimen is not known. The original occurrence was only a few specimens, and probably not this rich. It could be “manufactured” but could also...
5722 Ruby Corundum, Mount Brady, Ambalindum Station, Harts Range, Northern Territory
Single red crystal (17mm longest direction) with very minor matrix. Fluoresces bright red (right hand image).
5719 Goethite replacing Pyrite, Stellerite, Calcite, Lake Cooper quarry, Corop, Campaspe Shire, Victoria
Interpenetrant slightly rounded pyrite cubes, some with truncated corners, altering to brown goethite with prismatic colourless striated prismatic stellerite crystals and minor white calcite crystals. Width of view 3.5mm. Stack of 50 images.
0248 Pyromorphite, Block 14 Open Cut, South Mine, Broken Hill, New South Wales
Green prismatic crystals. Width of specimen 11mm.
ncat JP3161 Anatase, Carapooee, Northern Grampians Shire, Victoria
A large number of mostly bluish anatase crystals from an alluvial deposit. Width of view 3.5mm. Stack of 75 images.
5718 Goethite replacing Pyrite, North Moonlight Mine, Berringa, Golden Plains Shire, Victoria
A single cube of pyrite altering to goethite in a sandstone matrix. Width of view 9mm. Stack of 100 images.
2142 Antimony, Inglewood, Loddon Shire, Victoria
Tin white antimony on matrix. Specimen width 25mm.
5717 Sampleite, Lake Boga granite quarry, Lake Boga, Swan Hill Rural City, Victoria
Intense blue thin bladed crystals, including one that has a distinct bend. Width of view 9mm. Stack of 100 images. Ex Margaret Brown Collection.
ncat WD102 Phillipsite, Calcite, Sunbury, Victoria
An unusual specimen. I am unaware of other zeolite specimens from Sunbury, although the basalt quarries do produce calcite and aragonite. This specimen also has what looks like calcite-coated prismatic augite crystals, unlike any other Victorian zeolite localities I have seen. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this specimen is...
0436 Smithsonite, Coronadite, Kintore Open Cut, South Mine, Broken Hill, New South Wales
One of my favourite Broken Hill smithsonite specimens. Width of view 5mm. Stack of 100 images.
0589 Datolite, Chlorite, Colebrook Hill, Rosebery, Tasmania
Chlorite “worms” included in colourless datolite crystals. Width of view 9mm. Stack of 120 images.
3875 Sampleite, Lake Boga, Victoria
Unusually narrow-bladed sampleite crystals. Width of view 1.75mm. Stack of 45 images.
30110 Pyromorphite, Cerussite, Calcite, Avondale Mine, Mount Lyndhurst station, North Flinders Ranges, Flinders Ranges, South Australia
Green hexagonal prisms of pyromorphite with off-white cerussite (orange fluorescence) and white calcite (white fluorescence). Specimen measures 60x50x32mm.
20068 Azurite, Boomerang Mine (Matlock Mine; Mount Maggie Mine), Gunpowder District, City of Mount Isa, Queensland
Group of stacked azurite crystals. Ex George Reimherr Collection. 21mm wide.
ncat MB Axinite-(Fe), Actinolite, Andradite, Tremolite, Dookie Mineralogical Reserve quarry, Dookie, City of Greater Shepparton, Victoria
Lilac group of axinite crystals with green actinolite, orange andradite and white fibrous tremolite. Width of view 9mm. Stack of 180 images. Ex Margaret Brown Collection. Ex Gerry Morvell. Click on the image below for a higher resolution version.
0174 Boulangerite, Rhodochrosite, Quartz, Chlorite, Rosebery Mine, Tasmania
Rings and curved crystals of boulangerite on pink rhodochrosite. Header image width of view is 5mm. Stack of 110 images. Second image is an old one, width of view 2.5mm and stack of 12.
30108 Topaz, Bischoff Extended (West Bischoff; Wheal Bischoff), Waratah, Waratah-Wynyard Municipality, Tasmania
Slightly iron-stained topaz crystals in vugh in a vein. Width 50mm. Closeup photo width of view 5mm. Stack of 60 images.
3966 Quartz, Hematite, Iron Blow, Gormanston, Tasmania
Collected… Also ended up having minor surgery after this collecting trip. A piece of chisel ended up embedded in my wrist!
ncat M3018 Saléeite, Lake Boga, Victoria
Thin elongated saléeite crystals, extremely responsive to ultraviolet. Ex Bernie Day collection. Width of view 5mm. Stack of 70 images (white light) and 14 images (UV image).
5713 Mcguinnessite, Copper, Dolomite, DeGrussa Copper Mine (DeGrussa Gold-Copper Mine; DeGrussa Mine), Doolgunna Station, Peak Hill Goldfield, Meekatharra Shire, Western Australia
Genie of the lamp. Colourless bladed dolomite crystals over pale blue mcguinnessite on native copper. Height of view 11mm. Stack of 160 images.
0596 Zircon, Ridge Road quarry, Daylesford, Hepburn Shire, Victoria
Single zircon crystal occurs as a xenolith in basalt. Width of view 11mm. Stack of 150 images.
30106 Quartz, Meredith, Golden Plains Shire, Victoria
Colourless crystal, main one being 35mm long.
5712 Atacamite, Gypsum, Volborthite, Sweet Nell (Ironstone Lagoon), Ironstone Lagoon, Stuart Shelf, South Australia
Colourless gypsum over dark green to almost black atacamite. Yellowish green volborthite on specimen but not in photos. Ex John and Betty Weir.
20065 Ferrierite-Mg, Burra Burra Copper Mine (Burra Mine; Monster Mine), Burra, North Mt Lofty Ranges, Mt Lofty Ranges, South Australia
White sprays on quartz matrix. Width of view 11mm. Stack of 220 images. Ex Vince Peisley.
4910 Torbernite, Pseudomalachite, Mottramite, Libethenite, Monakoff Mine, Cloncurry, Cloncurry Shire, Queensland
Green platy torbernite, bluish green hemispheres of pseudomalachite, tiny green crystals of libethenite and tiny yellow-green crystals of mottramite. Width of view 7.5mm. Stack of 120 images. Ex Barry Schubert Collection.
ncat JL376 Linarite, Cerussite, Broken Hill, New South Wales
Featured on the cover of the Australian Journal of Mineralogy Volume 21 Number 1, 2020. If you were to ask my granddaughter Gracie what my favourite colour is, she would tell you blue! And what can be more blue than a Broken Hill linarite. This specimen has sprays of intense...
0298 Ulrichite, Turquoise, Lake Boga granite quarry, Lake Boga, Swan Hill Rural City, Victoria
Green transparent sprays of ulrichite with a couple of turquoise balls. Height 7.5mm. Stack of 200 images. Type Locality.
20063 M446 Marshite, Cuprite, Dolomite, Mutooroo Mine, Pine Creek – Mutooroo area, Mingary, Olary Province, South Australia
Pale greenish marshite(!) crystal with dark cuprite crystals and white dolomite. The marshite fluoresces strongly red with Convoy UV torch. There are three other areas of the specimen that also fluoresce bright red, but individual crystals are hidden. No doubt about the locality, it is typical of Mutooroo. Width 7.5mm....
0639 Gonnardite, Boral Bluestone quarry (Dunnstown quarry), Dunnstown, Moorabool Shire, Victoria
Small vugh full of silky white crystal sprays. Width 18.5mm. Stack of 200 images.
5703 Pyrite, Goethite, New Australasian Mine, Creswick, Hepburn Shire, Victoria
Pyrite cube partially altered to goethite. Collected on the dumps 31 July 2020. Crystal width 4mm. Stack of 80 images. Scene of Australia’s worst mining disaster in 1882 when 26 men perished. Water from the old Shaft 1 broke into the newer Shaft 2 workings.
4547 Saleeite, Lake Boga granite quarry, Lake Boga, Swan Hill Rural City, Victoria
Greenish yellow platy crystals that react strongly to Convoy longwave ultraviolet light. Width 9.25mm. Stack of 120 images (white light). Stack of 15 images (UV). Ex Margaret Brown Collection.
5694 Bastnäsite-(Ce), Coronadite, Mimetite, Kintore opencut, Broken Hill South Mine, Broken Hill, Broken Hill district, Yancowinna Co., New South Wales
Tiny triangular orange bastnäsite-(Ce) crystals on black coronadite. There are three vughs with at least a dozen bastnäsite-(Ce) crystals in each. Mimetite is mostly yellow prismatic crystals with one grey crystal. Width 3mm. Stack of 70 images.
5693 Beudantite Group, Gold Mine, Central Goldfields, Victoria
Glassy brown bipyramidal crystals of a probable beudantite group mineral, with nearby yellowish-green material probably also the same species. Width 2.25mm. Collected underground. Stack of 90 images.
5692 Fluellite, Wavellite, Fairview Quarry, Robertstown, North Mt Lofty Ranges, Mt Lofty Ranges, South Australia
Grey blocky fluellite crystals with tiny white wavellite crystals. Fluoresces under longwave UV. Width 18.5mm (except for cropped UV image). White light: stack of 130 images. UV: stack of 18 images. Ex John Weir. The fuzzy bits around the base edges of the fluellite crystals appears to be where the...
5691 Calcite, Mount Franklin, Hepburn Shire, Victoria
White agate-patterned calcite filling small vesicles in basalt. Width 5.5mm. Stack of 50 images. Collected 16/7/2020.
30104 Cerussite, Galena, Pyrite, Sphalerite, Siderite, Central Goldfields, Victoria
Brown-tinged cerussite crystals in argentiferous galena with pyrite and minor sphalerite and siderite. Width 11mm. Stack of 100 images.
30103 Murchison meteorite, Murchison, City of Greater Shepparton, Victoria
0.2g of the Murchison meteorite (9 fragments). This meteorite which fell in 1969 is classed as a CM2 Carbonaceous Chondrite. 38 mineral species have been identified including 3 Type Locality minerals. Largest piece in photo is 5mm tall. Stack of 50 images.
5686 Mimetite, Goethite, Cerussite, Kintore opencut, Broken Hill South Mine, Broken Hill, Broken Hill district, Yancowinna Co., New South Wales
Yellow butterfly of mimetite with goethite casts after cerussite. Width 5.5mm. Stack of 70 images.
5682 Linarite, Block 14 opencut, Broken Hill, Broken Hill district, Yancowinna Co., New South Wales
Intense blue linarite crystals. Width 8mm. Stack of 51 images.
5678 Crocoite, Pyromorphite, Platt Prospect, Dundas mineral field, Zeehan District, West Coast municipality, Tasmania
Collected underground in 2004. Specimen width 11mm. Stack of 98 images (Helicon Focus).
5179 JL0136 Copper, Tennant Creek, Barkly Region, Northern Territory
Sharp native copper crystals. Specimen height 7mm. Stack of 100 images. Ex Joan Lamond Collection.
5169 JL1507 Chabazite, Phillipsite, Calcite, Old Melbourne Quarries, Victoria
Phacolite habit of chabazite. Brown ferroan calcite is fluorescent and phosphorescent. Width 11mm. Stack of 110 images. Ex Joan Lamond Collection. Ex Museum Victoria.
5174 JL0004 Gold, Moliagul, Victoria
Cluster of tiny gold crystals. Width 5.5mm. Stack of 80 images. Ex Joan Lamond Collection. Obtained from Gordon Dicker in 1973.
5192 JL1451 Newberyite, Skipton Caves, Mt. Widderin (Anderson’s Hill), Skipton, Corangamite Shire, Victoria
Ex Museum of Victoria. Width 11mm. Stack of 70 images. Some of the smaller crystals are transparent.
5677 Gold, Sebastopol, City of Ballarat, Victoria
Small amount of gold in quartz. Width 11mm. Stack of 70 images.
8201 M3884 Cuprite, Tennant Creek, Barkly Region, Northern Territory
Deep red octahedral crystals when strongly lit. Width 11mm. Stack of 116 images. Ex Bernie and Margaret Day Collection.
5675 Cowlesite, Basalt quarry, Jindivick, Baw Baw Shire, Victoria
One of the rarer zeolites. Silky white sprays. Width 11mm. Stack of 140 images.
9045 JP2202 Lavendulan, Alice Mary Mine, Kundip, Ravensthorpe Shire, Western Australia
Light blue crust on matrix. Width 11mm. Stack of 40 images. Ex Jo Price Collection.
9043 JP2247 Rutile, Dravite, Wolfram Mine, Pittong, Golden Plains Shire, Victoria
Blocky brown rutile crystals with green-brown prismatic dravite. Height 5.5mm. Stack of 60 images. Ex Jo Price Collection.
9120 JP2802 Gold, Bendigo, City of Greater Bendigo, Victoria
Gold (trying very hard to be an octahedral crystal) in quartz. Width 11mm. Stack of 58 images. Ex Jo Price Collection.
9060 JP2643 Chalcocite, Telfer Mine, Rudall River District, East Pilbara Shire, Western Australia
Sharp platy crystals. Width 7mm, stack of 60 images. Ex Jo Price Collection.
9037 JP2292 Gold, Wolfram Mine, Pittong, Golden Plains Shire, Victoria
Very small patches of hackly gold embedded in quartz. Width 4.5mm. Stack of 40 images. Ex Jo Price Collection.
9036 JP2344 Bismuth, Wolfram Mine, Pittong, Golden Plains Shire, Victoria
Silvery-white crystalline native bismuth. Width 9mm. Stack of 62 images. Ex Jo Price Collection.
9039 JP2278 Pyromorphite, Broken Hill, Broken Hill district, Yancowinna Co., New South Wales
Collected on the Pinnacles Dumps. Width 4.5mm. Stack of 54 images. Ex Jo Price Collection.
9026 JP2279 Libethenite, Plimerite, Broken Hill South Mine (BHS Mine; South Mine), Broken Hill, Broken Hill district, Yancowinna Co., New South Wales
Lighter green libethenite with almost black bladed plimerite. Natrodufrenite listed on label but I am not able to pick it. There are also other minerals, including possible calcian pyromorphite as white prismatic crystals, hoppered green pyromorphite, and yellow pyromorphite. Width 9mm. Stack of 40 images. Ex Jo Price Collection.
5672 Gold, Goethite, New Penrose Mine, Berringa, Golden Plains Shire, Victoria
Small amount of gold with iridescent goethite in white quartz.
5671 Gold, Goethite, New Penrose Mine, Berringa, Golden Plains Shire, Victoria
Bright gold patches with iridescent goethite in white quartz. Width 9mm. Stack of 50 images.
28002 VH34 Fluorite, Calcite, North Mine (North Broken Hill Mine; NBH Mine), Broken Hill, Broken Hill district, Yancowinna Co., New South Wales
Group of deep purple fluorite cubes with octahedral faces, with white calcite that fluoresces red. Width 9mm. Stack of 60 images. Ex Val Hannah Collection.
28001 VH230 Stolzite, Pyromorphite, Sphalerite, Anglesite, Kintore opencut, Broken Hill South Mine, Broken Hill, Broken Hill district, Yancowinna Co., New South Wales
Greenish-brown short to long prismatic stolzite crystals with brown pyromorphite. Width 9mm. Stack of 100 images. Ex Val Hannah Collection. Pyromorphite is fluorescent pale orange, but also fluorescing are patches of sphalerite in the matrix (bright orange) and small anglesite crystals (bright yellow).
9021 JP2347 Coronadite, Pyromorphite, Kaolinite?, Kintore opencut, Broken Hill South Mine (BHS Mine; South Mine), Broken Hill, Broken Hill district, Yancowinna Co., New South Wales
Acicular needles of coronadite with a few hexagonal green pyromorphite crystals and white fibrous kaolinite(?). Width 9mm. Stack of 30, 42 and 62 photos. Ex Jo Price Collection.
9020 JP2381 Arsenopyrite, Sphalerite, Chalcopyrite, Colebrook Hill, Rosebery district, West Coast municipality, Tasmania
Sharp crystals of pale brass arsenopyrite and black sphalerite, and a tiny bit of chalcopyrite. Photo width 9mm. Stack of 50 images (arsenopyrite), and 60 images (sphalerite). Ex Jo Price specimen.
9089 JP2810 Fluorite, Goethite, Quartz, Blue Hills, Agate Creek, Etheridge Shire, Queensland
A single purple octahedral crystal of fluorite (fluorescent) with golden sprays of goethite on quartz. Width 9mm. Stack of 110 images. Ex Jo Price Collection.
9017 JP2203 Jarosite, Goethite, Wiperaminga Hill West Quarry (Wipperaminga Hill), Boolcoomatta Reserve (Boolcoomata Station; Boolcoomatta), Olary Province, South Australia
Sharp brown jarosite crystals with rainbow goethite. Width 9mm. Stack of 34 images. Ex Jo Price Collection.
9012 JP2963 Zircon, Middle Hill, Mount Anakie, Anakie, City of Greater Geelong, Victoria
Although not that uncommon, zircon xenocrysts that have come up as part of the molten material are usually hard to spot. This zircon has only been affected a little. It also exhibits a nice rainbow effect around the edges.
9011 JP2991 Powellite, Dundee, Gough Co., New South Wales
Powellite is uncommon in Australia, particular as distinct crystals. Mindat has only one photo, a powellite with ulrichite and fluorapatite from Lake Boga. This specimen has excellent crystals. Width 6.5mm. Stack of 180 images. Ex Jo Price Collection.
20055 Tridymite, Spring Hill, Macedon Ranges, Victoria
Pale greenish rounded pseudohexagonal twins of tridymite with goethite(?). Oxidation due to the breakdown of either ilmenite or magnetite. You can see the hexagonal outline of the tridymite here and there.
7231 JL1610 Chrysocolla, Gypsum, Trafalgar Mine (Mount Oscar Mine), Cloncurry, Cloncurry Shire, Queensland
Ex Joan Lamond Collection. Colourless gypsum crystals on green chrysocolla (labelled as pseudomalachite). Acquired by Joan in 1995 from John Toma while on a field trip to Lake Boga. Width 9mm. Stack of 30 images.
9135 JP2645 Molybdofornacite, Wulfenite, Pyromorphite, Whim Creek Copper Mine (Whim Creek Copper prospect; Whim Well Mine), Whim Creek, Roebourne Shire, Western Australia
Sharp green crystals of molybdofornacite on tabular yellow wulfenite with cream zoned hexagonal pyromorphite. Width 6.5mm. Stack of 37 images. Ex Jo Price Collection.
9132 JP2682 Crocoite, Magnet Mine, Magnet, Waratah district, Waratah-Wynyard municipality, Tasmania
Stubby orange crystals with unknown powdery yellow material. Width 6.5mm. Stack of 71 images. Ex Jo Price Collection.
9122 JP2754 Plumbogummite, Goethite, Wolfram Mine, Pittong, Golden Plains Shire, Victoria
Black spheres of goethite on blue plumbogummite. Width 6.5mm. Stack of 52 images. Ex Jo Price Collection.
9114 JP2734 Phillipsite-Na, Siderite, Pioneer quarry, Narre Warren North, City of Casey, Victoria
Basketweave siderite with colourless drillbit twin phillipsite-Na crystals. Width 6.5mm. Stack of 38 images. Ex Jo Price Collection.
9107 JP2756 Kidwellite, Strengite, Iron Monarch open cut, Iron Knob, Middleback Range, Eyre Peninsula, South Australia
Pale creamy greenish-yellow tufts of kidwellite with glassy lilac strengite crystals. Width 3.25mm. Stack of 40 images. Ex Jo Price Collection.
9009 JP2205 Natrolite, Chabazite-Na, Ardglen Quarry (State Rail Quarry), Ardglen, Buckland Co., New South Wales
Colourless natrolite needles with a pink base, possibly caused by hematite, on phacolitic chabazite crystals (probably chabazite-Na). Width 9mm. Stack of 110 images. Ex Jo Price Collection.