5728 Strontiodresserite, Francon quarry, Montréal, Québec, Canada
Type Locality. White crystal sprays.
5727 Lafossaite, La Fossa crater, Vulcano Island, Lipari, Eolie Islands (Aeolian Islands), Messina Province, Sicily, Italy
Type Locality. Tiny yellow cubes of this rare thallium species. Width of view 3.5mm. Stack of 60 images.
5726 Natisite, Karnasurt Mountain, Lovozersky District, Murmansk Oblast, Russia
Type Locality. Tiny green grains. Ex Peter Hall Collection.
5725 Irhtemite, Ightem Mine (Irhtem Mine), Ightem, Agdz Cercle, Zagora Province, Drâa-Tafilalet Region, Morocco
Type Locality. Colourless to white prismatic crystals.
5724 Jacobsite, N’Chwaning II Mine, Kuruman, Kalahari manganese field, Northern Cape, South Africa
Lustrous black octahedral crystals.
5723 Lansfordite, Tunnel #1, Nesquehoning Coal Mine, Nesquehoning, Lansford, Carbon Co., Pennsylvania, USA
Type Locality. Parallel group of crystals. Ex Peter Hall Collection.
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).
5721 Steropesite, La Fossa crater, Vulcano Island, Lipari, Eolie Islands (Aeolian Islands), Messina Province, Sicily, Italy
Type Locality. Pale yellow crust of this rare thallium species.
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.
20070 Wulfenite, Ahumada Mine, Los Lamentos, Mexico
Butterscotch tabular crystals, largest 15mm across. Five views of the one specimen, each taken with iPhone 11 Pro Max plus Struman macro lens.
ncat WD113 Cassiterite, Hyalite, Erongo Mountains, Karibib, Erongo, Namibia
Nice sharp group of cassiterite crystals with a partial coating of fluorescent green hyalite opal. The hyalite fluoresces under longwave UV (Convoy) but is much brighter under shortwave. The green fluorescence is due to uranyl ions.
ncat AA6 Adamite, Ojuela Mine, Mapimí, Mapimí Municipality, Durango, Mexico
Highly fluorescent under longwave and shortwave. Size 45x30x25mm.
20031 Ruby, Luc Yen, Yen Bai Province, Vietnam
Highly fluorescent. Sold as pink sapphires. [private role=”administrator”]US$10.50 from eBay[/private]
ncat JP2283 Anatase, Cwmorthin Quarry, Tanygrisiau, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, Wales, UK
A nice little group of anatase crystals on matrix. Width of view 3.5mm. Stack of 50 images.
9164 JP2275 Anatase, Plan-du-Lac, Saint Christophe-en-Oisans, Isere, Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, France
A single sharp zoned blue and yellow anatase crystal on matrix. Width of view 3.5mm. Stack of 75 images.
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.
8186 M3762 Anatase, Chlorite, Cassiterite, Albite, Quartz, Craddock Moor Mine, Craddock Moor, St Cleer, Liskeard District, Cornwall, England
A single blue anatase crystal on a specimen containing dark green chlorite, orange-brown cassiterite, white albite and colourless quartz. Ex Bernie and Margaret Day Collection. The label on the base of the box is in Chris Jewson’s handwriting. Width of view 3.5mm. Stack of 65 images.
9050 JP2372 Anatase, Rutile, Quartz, Albite, Estaing, Hautes-Pyrénées, Occitanie, France
Blue anatase crystals with orange rutile needles on albite and quartz. Width of view 4.5mm. Stack of 50 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.
30112 Smithsonite, Mimetite, Tsumeb Mine (Tsumcorp Mine), Tsumeb, Oshikoto Region, Namibia
Grey rhombohedral smithsonite crystals with yellow mimetite. Specimen measures 49x28x20mm.
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...
10027 Fluorite, Wulfenite, Barite, Blue Star prospect, South Canyon District, Dona Ana Co., New Mexico, USA
Colourless cubes of fluorite with thin purple edges, colourless fluorite with hematite inclusions/staining, purple cubes, yellow tabular wulfenite, minor white barite. Specimen is 50x36x30mm. Second image is under shortwave ultraviolet light.
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.
4589 Silver, Waihi, North Island, New Zealand
A very fine and rare group of native silver crystals from Waihi, an area known for its gold. It measures 20mm across.
30111 Kutnohorite, Rhodochrosite, Calcite, N’Chwaning II Mine, N’Chwaning Mines, Kuruman, Kalahari manganese field, Northern Cape, South Africa
Pink drusy crystals of rhodochrosite coating acicular kutnohorite and white calcite that fluoresces red. 40x36x33mm.
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.
20069 Wulfenite, Red Cloud Mine, Silver Mining District, La Paz County, Arizona, USA
Stalactite of tabular orange wulfenite crystals 25mm in longest direction.
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.
20067 Barite, Hematite, Magma Mine (Magma Superior Mine; Magma Copper Mine), Superior, Pioneer Mining District, Pinal Mountains, Pinal Co., Arizona, USA
Dark tabular barite crystals on a fragment of hematite matrix. Ex George Reimherr Collection. 15mm 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.
ncat JP1756 Fluorite, Marcasite, Ladywash Mine, Eyam, Derbyshire, England, UK
Purple cubes with small modified edges with tiny brassy marcasite crystals. Some of the matrix is vein calcite that fluoresces bright red. Width of view 9mm. Stack of 130 images.
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.
ncat AA3 Stilbite, Neer Road, Goble, Columbia Co., Oregon, USA
Larger stilbite crystals with multiple terminations (parallel growth?) on smaller crystals with single terminations. Width of view 5mm. Stack of 80 images. Exact species unknown.
5716 Epidote, Maltatal, Malta, Spittal an der Drau District, Carinthia (Kärnten), Austria
Sharp prismatic green crystals with quartz, dark green chlorite, and unknown pink balls. Height of view 5mm. Stack of 60 images. Locality not specifically in Mindat. Maltatal is a river north of Malta.
5715 Gold, Emperor Mine, Vatukoula, Vatukoula Gold Field, Viti Levu, Fiji
Stacked crystals of gold that twist and bend giving an almost curved wire gold look. In one image, the red circled areas show a change to the tips of these “wires”. One in particular is reminiscent of native copper, with the very end perhaps a copper sulphide. Width of view...
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).
30107 Heulandite-Ca, Mordenite, Rat’s Nest claim (Rat’s Nest mine), Challis, Bay Horse Mining District, Custer Co., Idaho, USA
Pink heulandite with white mordenite from John Cornish’s Rat’s Nest Claim. Acquired from John in Tucson 2007. Measures 46mm wide.
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.
30105 Boracite, Hilgardite, Boulby Mine, Loftus, Redcar and Cleveland, England, UK
Blue-green boracite crystals with orange hilgardite. Ex Lindsay and Patricia Greenbank Collection. Ex Joseph Funke Collection.
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.
20066 Lavoisierite, Punta Gensane, Col San Giovanni, Viù, Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont, Italy
Type Locality. Orange fibrous laths frozen in matrix. Width of view 18mm. Stack of 120 images.
5711 Goethite, Quartz, Robert Mine (Roberts Mine; Kennedy Mine), Cuyuna Range, Crow Wing Co., Minnesota, USA
Reddish brown goethite botryoidal matrix hosting colourless quartz crystals. Width of view 18mm. Stack of 240 images. Ex Lundgren Collection.
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.
5313 Caledonite, Blue Bell Claims (A2″), Baker, San Bernadino Co.,California
Thin vein of light blue caledonite crystals. Width of view 7.5mm. Stack of 100 images.
5710 Copper in Gypsum, Mission pit, Mission complex, San Xavier, Pima Mining District (Olive Mining District; Mineral Hill Mining District; Twin Buttes Mining District), Sierrita Mountains, Pima Co., Arizona, USA
Arborescent copper included in gypsum. Width of view 7.5mm. Stack of 150 images. Ex Charles Willett Collection.
ncat BJ Box RL Smithsonite, Malachite, Akjoujt Mine (Guelb Moghrein Mine), Akjoujt (Akjout; Fort Repoux), Inchiri Region, Mauritania
White smithsonite, green malachite.
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.
1277 Barite, Chabazite-Na (Herschelite), Apatite, Siderite, Bickers Quarry (Simpkins Quarry), Tokatoka, Kaipara District, Northland Region, New Zealand
Small cavities containing white bladed barite, colourless pseudo-hexagonal chabazite, colourless prismatic apatite and brown siderite. Width of view 3.75mm. Stack of 80 images.
1447 Fluorite, Natrolite, Rhodochrosite, Aegirine?, Poudrette quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, La Vallée-du-Richelieu RCM, Montérégie, Québec, Canada
Wedge-shaped reddish-brown rhodochrosite on and with natrolite, colourless tiny cubes of fluorite with small octahedral corners on thin acicular aegirine(?) (see first crop). Unidentified white platy crystals (see second crop). Width of view 7.5mm. Stack of 180 images.
1388 Rhodochrosite, Capillitas mining district, Andalgalá Department, Catamarca Province, Argentina
Pale pink crystals. Width 18.5mm. Stack of 160 images. Acquired from Ian Graham in 1993.
1389 Rhodochrosite, Pyrite, Capillitas mining district, Andalgalá Department, Catamarca Province, Argentina
Pale pink section of a stalactite. Interesting that there is pyrite on the outer edges. Width 18.5mm. Stack of 130 images. Acquired from Roger Webb at the Salamanca Market, Hobart, in 1993.
1288 Pharmacosiderite, Chalcophyllite, Wheal Gorland, St Day, Cornwall, England
Olive green cubes of pharmacosiderite with pale blue platelets of chalcophyllite. Width 3.75mm. Stack of 100 images. Old photograph (2005) is a single shot taken with a Sony DSC P150 hand held on microscope eyepiece. You can see vignetting particularly top corners.
5709 Pyrite, Ammonite Tragophylloceras sp, Charmouth Beach, Charmouth, West Dorset, Dorset, England, UK
Ammonite fossil replaced by pyrite.
5708 Pyrite, Ammonite Androgynoceras sp, Charmouth Beach, Charmouth, West Dorset, Dorset, England, UK
Ammonite fossil replaced by pyrite.
5707 Pyrite, Ammonite Gleviceras sp, Charmouth Beach, Charmouth, West Dorset, Dorset, England, UK
Ammonite fossil replaced by pyrite.
5706 Pyrite, Ammonite Tropidoceras sp, Charmouth Beach, Charmouth, West Dorset, Dorset, England, UK
Ammonite fossil replaced by pyrite.
5705 Pyrite, Ammonite Polymorphite sp, Charmouth Beach, Charmouth, West Dorset, Dorset, England, UK
Ammonite fossil replaced by pyrite.
5704 Pyrite, Ammonite Crucilobiceras sp, Charmouth Beach, Charmouth, West Dorset, Dorset, England, UK
Ammonite fossil replaced by pyrite.
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....
8519 Tenorite, Second scoria cone, Northern Breakthrough (North Breach), Great Fissure eruption (Main Fracture), Tolbachik volcano, Kamchatka Krai, Russia
Lustrous black rounded wires of tenorite. Width 7.5mm. Stack of 90 images.
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.
8518 Bariopharmacosiderite, Clara Mine, Oberwolfach, Ortenaukreis, Freiburg Region, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Orange cubes. Type Locality. Width 6mm. Stack of 90 images.
8517 Grossular (Hessonite), Clinochlore, Bellecombe, Châtillon, Aosta Valley, Italy
Orange to red hessonite garnet showing a combination of dodecahedron and hexoctahedron forms with green curving worms of clinochlore. Width 18.5mm. Stack of 300 images.
5702 Erbium, Man-Made
Small piece of Erbium elemental metal. Box base is 28mm across. Element Er, number 68 on the Periodic Table.
5701 Yttrium, Man-Made
Small piece of Yttrium elemental metal. Box base is 28mm across. Element Y, number 39 on the Periodic Table.
5700 Hafnium, Man-Made
Bead of Hafnium elemental metal. Box base is 28mm across. Element Hf, number 72 on the Periodic Table.
5699 Dysprosium, Man-Made
Small piece of Dysprosium elemental metal. Box base is 28mm across. Element Dy, number 66 on the Periodic Table.
5698 Ytterbium, Man-Made
Small piece of Ytterbium elemental metal. Box base is 28mm across. Element Yb, number 70 on the Periodic Table.
5697 Gadolinium, Man-Made
Small piece of Gadolinium elemental metal. Box base is 28mm across. Element Gd, number 64 on the Periodic Table.
5696 Samarium, Man-Made
Cube of Samarium elemental metal. Box base is 28mm across. Element Sm, number 62 on the Periodic Table.
5695 Holmium, Man-Made
Small piece of Holmium elemental metal. Box base is 28mm across. Element Ho, number 67 on the Periodic Table.
20062 Lutetium, Man-Made
Small pieces of Lutetium elemental metal in glass ampoule 40mm long. Element Lu, number 71 on the Periodic Table.