5561 Stolzite, Pyromorphite, Broken Hill, Yancowinna Co., New South Wales, Australia
Ex Bill Henderson Collection. Labelled as mimetite, but more likely to be pyromorphite. Photo width 3.05mm.
March 2018
5560 Boleite, Cerussite, Mammoth-Saint Anthony Mine, Tiger, Pinal Co., Arizona
More than just simple cubes on these boleite crystals! Ex Bill Henderson Collection. Ex Forrest Cureton. Photo width 3.33mm.
5557 Calcite, Rhodochrosite, Quartz, Kara Mine, Hampshire, Tasmania
A mixture of Mn-rich calcite-Ca-rich rhodochrosite pseudomorphing kutnohorite, sitting on drusy quartz crystals. According to Ralph Bottrill, analyses showed Mn40Ca60 and Mn75Ca25 from XRD. This specimen is quite pale compared to others found on a field trip...
5556 Alwilkinsite-(Y), Val Daone Mine, Limes, Italy
Tiny fibrous pale-yellow tufts and crust. This was the second locality for alwilkinsite-(Y), named after good friend, Al Wilkins in 2016. It could have been very different. The Italian one was first described (as an...
0501 Malachite, Iodide Mine, Mineral Hill, New South Wales
A neat little spray of malachite, roughly 0.6mm across, from the lesser-known Mineral Hill deposit, the Iodide Mine (Mount Iodide Mine), Mineral Hill field, Condobolin district, Kennedy Co., New South Wales. Also present on the specimen...
4670 Cacoxenite, Leonie I Mine, Germany
Yellow radial tufts of cacoxenite from the Leonie I Mine, Auerbach, Upper Palatinate, Bavaria, Germany.
4700 Chalcopyrite, Clara Mine, Germany
4700 Chalcopyrite, Clara Mine, Germany Sharp crystals of chalcopyrite from the Clara Mine, Wolfach, Germany.
1365 Soddyite, Katanga, Democratic Republic of Congo
Radioactive soddyite from the Shinkolobwe Mine (Kasolo Mine), Katanga, Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaïre). Photo width 12mm. The Shinkolobwe Mine is the Type Locality for soddyite.
1525 Chalcophyllite, Wheal Gorland, Cornwall
Lovely, but tiny, crystals of chalcophyllite from Wheal Gorland, Cornwall.
4674 Calderónite, Christmas, Arizona
Calderónite crystals from the C and B Mine, Christmas, Dripping Spring Mts, Gila Co., Arizona.
4669 Muscovite, Senevedo Alp, Italy
Muscovite mica from Senevedo Alp, Chiesa in Valmalenco, Malenco Valley, Valtellina, Sondrio Province, Lombardy, Italy.
4714 Fluornatromicrolite, Albite, Shigar Valley, Pakistan
Tiny sharp golden fluornatromicrolite on albite, Shigar Valley, Skardu District, Baltistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan.
4707 Rutile, Dolomite, Lengenbach Quarry, Switzerland
Rutile and dolomite, from the famous Lengenbach Quarry, Fäld, Binn Valley, Wallis, Switzerland. Click on the image below for a higher resolution version.
4989 Plášilite and Manganoblödite, Blue Lizard Mine, Utah
Plášilite (yellow), and manganoblödite (pink), from the Blue Lizard Mine, Red Canyon, White Canyon District, San Juan Co., Utah. Plášilite is also recorded from one other locality, the nearby Green Lizard Mine. And manganoblödite is...
4990 Sideronatrite on Asphaltum, Blue Lizard Mine, Utah
Sideronatrite on Asphaltum, Blue Lizard Mine, Red Canyon, White Canyon District, San Juan Co., Utah, USA.
4991 Belakovskiite, Blue Lizard Mine, Utah
So far, seventeen minerals new to science have been described from this mine. This is another one of them. Belakovskiite as tiny pale silky fibres (mainly in the bottom left of the photo), with a...
4992 Natrozippeite, Blue Lizard Mine, Utah
Natrozippeite, one of a number of bright yellow minerals from the Blue Lizard Mine, Red Canyon, White Canyon District, San Juan Co., Utah, USA. Thin bladed crystals and aggregates.
4993 Natrozippeite and Brochantite, Blue Lizard Mine, Utah
A specimen of natrozippeite, this one with brochantite from the Blue Lizard Mine, Red Canyon, White Canyon District, San Juan Co., Utah, USA. Yellow thin bladed crystals of natrozippeite with green aggregates of brochantite.
4994 Pyrite, Zeilberg Quarry, Maroldsweisach, Germany
A nice example of an uncommon pyrite habit from Zeilberg Quarry, Maroldsweisach, Franconia, Bavaria, Germany.
4995 Monazite-(Ce), Hopffeldboden, Austria
A pale yellow transparent crystal of monazite-(Ce) from Hopffeldboden, Hopffeld area, Obersulzbach valley, Hohe Tauern, Salzburg, Austria.
8184 Monazite-(Ce), Craddock Moor Mine, Cornwall, England
A more opaque Monazite-(Ce) from Craddock Moor Mine, Craddock Moor, St Cleer, Liskeard, Liskeard District, Cornwall, England, UK.
1008 Monazite, Juniper Flats, Nuevo, Lakeview Mts, Riverside Co., California
A single doubly-terminated crystal of monazite (dominant REE unknown), Cross Hill, Juniper Flats, Nuevo, Lakeview Mts, Riverside Co., California, USA.
4038 Cheralite, Euxenite-(Y), Uranium King Mine, Encampment, Carbon Co., Wyoming
A mix of cheralite (reddish-brown) and euxenite-(Y) (black) from the Uranium King Mine, Encampment, Encampment District, Carbon Co., Wyoming, USA. Ex Jim Ferraiolo.
5500 Mixite, Chrysocolla, Gold Hill Mine, Tooele Co., Utah
A lovely shade of green mixite and blue chrysocolla, from the Gold Hill Mine (Western Utah Mine), Gold Hill, Gold Hill District (Clifton District), Deep Creek Mts, Tooele Co., Utah, USA.
5013 Epidote, Toombeola Quarry, Connemara, Ireland
Tiny but well-formed crystals of epidote from the Toombeola Quarry, Connemara, Co. Galway, Ireland.
4708 Zircon, Albite, Schellgaden, Austria
An unusual dark purple zircon on colourless albite from Schellgaden, Murwinkel, Lungau, Salzburg, Austria.
4699 Willemite, Preguiça Mine, Portugal
Well-formed colourless crystals of willemite from the Preguiça Mine, Sobral da Adiça, Moura, Beja District, Portugal.
4689 Thorikosite, Fluorite, Gypsum, Lavrion District, Greece
Platy yellow thorikosite with globular fluorite, and white gypsum from the Lavrion District, Attikí Prefecture, Greece. Exact locality unknown.
4688 Vanadinite, Macy Mine, Hillsboro, Sierra Co., New Mexico, USA
A cute pair of hexagonal vanadinite crystals from the Macy Mine (Percha Mine; Vanadinite Mine; J. C. Macy claim; Barking Frog; Bobbee De claim), Percha Creek, Hillsboro, Hillsboro District, Sierra Co., New Mexico, USA.
1764 Sphalerite, Pyrite, Quartz, Eagle Picher Mine, Oklahoma, USA
A pyrite crystal is perched on orange-red sphalerite, on a bed of colourless quartz crystals, from the Eagle Picher Mine, Cardin, Picher Field, Tri-State District, Ottawa Co., Oklahoma, USA.
2959 Dioptase, Malpaso Quarry, Cordoba, Argentina
Green dioptase crystals from the Malpaso Quarry (Esperanza Quarry), Dumesnil, Colón Department, Córdoba, Argentina.
8048 M2750 Veszelyite, Black Pine Mine, Montana, USA
A deep blue veszelyite from the Black Pine Mine (Combination Mine; Black Pine tailings; Black Pine dump), Black Pine Ridge, John Long Mts, Philipsburg District (Flint Creek District), Granite Co., Montana, USA. Ex Bernie Day...
5415 Barite, Dolyhir Quarry, Old Radnor, Powys, Wales
Barite crystals from the Dolyhir Quarry, Old Radnor, Powys, Wales.
6079 Edingtonite, Natrolite, Jacupiranga mine, Cajati, São Paulo, Brazil
Colourless edingtonite with white natrolite from the Jacupiranga mine, Cajati, São Paulo, Brazil.
0616 Mesolite, Pune District, Maharashtra, India
A single mesolite crystal from the Pune District (Poonah District), Maharashtra, India. Photo width is 11mm.
2717 Dundasite, Zlaté Hory, Moravia, Czech Republic
Silky white aggregates of dundasite from Zlaté Hory (Zuckmantel), Olomouc Region, Moravia (Mähren; Maehren), Czech Republic. Photo width 17mm.
3646 Linarite, Menez Plom, France
Royal blue linarite in slag from the slag dumps, Menez-Plom, Carnoët, Callac, Côtes-d’Armor, Brittany, France. Photo width 5mm.
30044 Boulangerite, Yaogangxian Mine, China
Boulangerite crystals in fluorite from the Yaogangxian Mine, Yaogangxian W-Sn ore field, Yizhang Co., Chenzhou Prefecture, Hunan Province, China. Photo width 11mm.
0602 Natrolite, Analcime, Magheramorne Quarry, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland
Prismatic natrolite crystals exhibiting the characteristic terminations on analcime from the Magheramorne Quarry, Larne, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland. Photo width 2.5mm.
0086 Gold, Roger A Mine, Mount Kare Valley, Papua New Guinea
Crude crystals of gold make up this specimen from the Roger A Mine, Mt Kare Valley, Mt Hagen, Enga Province, Papua New Guinea. Photo width 5mm.
4101 Hibonite, Spinel, Ambindandrakemba, Madagascar
Black hexagonal hibonite with green spinel (out of focus top-middle) from Ambindandrakemba, Tranomaro Commune, Amboasary District, Anosy Region (Fort Dauphin Region), Tuléar Province (Toliara), Madagascar.
4100 Gedrite, Ludvika, Sweden
An uncommon black amphibole species, gedrite from Ludvika, Dalarna, Sweden. Specimen size is 20x20x15mm.
4599 Melkovite, U-Mo occurrence, Shunak Mts, Kazakhstan
Melkovite, U-Mo occurrence, Shunak Mts, Mointy Railway Station, Mointy, Balkhash Region, Karagandy Province, Kazakhstan. Type Locality. Certified (microprobe analyzed) sulfur-yellow melkovite, a rare hydrous Ca-Fe phosphate-molybdate, known only from the single locality in the world....
10069 Rhodochrosite, Moanda Mine, Moanda, Gabon
Tiny reddish brown scalenohedral crystals of rhodochrosite scattered on manganite-mudstone, Moanda Mine, Moanda, Léboumbi-Leyou Department, Haut-Ogooué Province, Gabon. Ex A.G. Moss Collection, number 962 (with label and card).
10001 Calcite, Fluorite, Hill-Ledford Mine, Cave-in-Rock, Hardin Co., Illinois, USA
Tiny cream calcite crystals on dark purple fluorite from the Hill-Ledford Mine, Cave-in-Rock, Cave-in-Rock Sub-District, Illinois – Kentucky Fluorspar District, Hardin Co., Illinois, USA. Largest fluorite 65mm across. Mined in the late 1950s or early...
10005 Hydroxyapophyllite-(K), Prehnite, Stilbite, Laumontite, Fairfax quarry, Centreville, Fairfax Co., Virginia, USA
Blocky opaque apophyllite with minor colourless stilbite and white laumontite on green prehnite. 65x45x10mm. Ex Joe Cilen (7403). Ex Eugene Carmichael (562). Hydroxyapophyllite-(K), prehnite, stilbite, laumontite, from the Fairfax quarry (Centreville Quarry; Sisslers Quarry), Centreville,...
5459 Barite after Alstonite. Nentsberry Haggs Mine, Alston, Cumbria, England
A neat pseudomorph of barite after alstonite from Nentsberry Haggs Mine, Nent Valley, Alston Moor District, Cumbria, England. Photo width 20mm.
5448 Barite, Calcite, Sidmouth Beach, Devon, England
Barite on calcite from Sidmouth Beach, Sidmouth, East Devon, Devon, England. Photo width 11mm.
5526 Humite, Spinel, Luc Yen, Yenbai Province, Vietnam
Brown humite and pink spinel etched out of marble from Luc Yen, Yenbai Province (Yen Bai Province), Vietnam.
2178 Strengite, Cacoxenite, Kidwellite, Rockbridgeite, Vivianite, Indian Mountain, Cherokee Co, Alabama, USA
Purple strengite crystals, brownish-black rockbridgeite, orange botryoidal cacoxenite, and minor kidwellite. Part of the matrix appears to be vivianite. Width of view 11.5mm. Stack of 70 images. Click on the image below for a higher...
1017 Microlite, Hollister Quarry, South Glastonbury, Hartford Co., Connecticut, USA
A 5mm wide pair of microlite group crystals from the Hollister prospects (Hollister Quarry), South Glastonbury, Glastonbury, Hartford Co., Connecticut, USA.
1651 Wavellite, Clear Spring Mine, Homeland, Polk Co., Florida, USA
A plug for Mindat! I have had this specimen for many many years, and it was labelled simply wavellite, Bartow, Florida. The only Bartow in Mindat is in Georgia. So I used the Photo Search...
4076 Smythite, State Route 37 road cut (6), Bloomington, Monroe Co., Indiana, USA
Smythite crystals in calcite from the Type Locality, State Route 37 road cut (6), Bloomington, Monroe Co., Indiana, USA. If you squint a little, you can make out the hexagonal outline. Specimen given to me...
1455 Pyrite, Pint’s Quarry, Raymond, Black Hawk Co., Iowa, USA
Interesting bipyramidal pyrite crystals, somewhat altered to brown goethite (although you can see some original pyrite peeking through on the edges) on calcite from Pint’s Quarry, Raymond, Black Hawk Co., Iowa, USA. The main cluster...
10021 Galena, Ballard Mine, Baxter Springs, Kansas, USA
Cubes of galena with tiny pyrite cubes and minor reddish sphalerite from the Ballard Mine, Baxter Springs, Picher Field, Tri-State District, Cherokee Co., Kansas, USA. Specimen is 42mm wide. Ex Eugene Carmichael Collection (EWC 2295),...
1078 Fluorite, Dolomite, Irvington Quarry, Breckinridge Co., Kentucky, USA
Purple fluorite nestled in amongst dolomite crystals from Liter’s Quarry (Hanson Aggregates Irvington Quarry), Breckinridge Co., Kentucky, USA. While looking at this through my microscope, I assumed it was a cube of fluorite, but the...
0821 Foitite, Elbaite, Mt Mica, Paris, Maine, USA
A zoned tourmaline, part foitite, part elbaite, according to the label, from the Mount Mica Quarry (Mount Mica Mine), Paris, Oxford Co., Maine, USA. It has broken at some point in its geological past, and...
1363 Realgar, Orpiment, Getchell Mine, Adam Peak, Humboldt Co., Nevada, USA
Red realgar and yellow orpiment from the Getchell Mine (North Pit; Center pit; South pit), Adam Peak, Potosi District, Osgood Mts, Humboldt Co., Nevada, USA. Interesting to see the crystallisation of each species seemingly oriented...
2344 Realgar, Lengenbach Quarry, Fald, Binn Valley, Wallis, Switzerland
Realgar and pyrite from the famous Lengenbach Quarry, Fäld (Imfeld; Im Feld; Feld), Binn Valley, Wallis (Valais), Switzerland.
5527 Analcime, Faroe Islands, Denmark
Analcime crystals from the Faroe Islands, Denmark. Labeled as Færøerne, Iceland. Ex John Lewis Collection.
5534 Cacoxenite, Mason Pass, Yerington, Lyon Co., Nevada, USA
Fibrous to acicular crystals of cacoxenite from Mason Pass, Yerington, Yerington District, Singatse Range, Lyon Co., Nevada, USA. Ex Hatfield Goudey (of goudeyite fame). Ex John Lewis Collection.
5535 Bornite after Chalcocite, Belmont Mine, Butte, Silver Bow Co., Montana, USA
Bornite pseudomorph after chalcocite, Belmont Mine, Butte, Butte District (Summit Valley District), Silver Bow Co., Montana, USA. Labelled as A Vein, 3000 Level. Ex Hatfield Goudey. Ex John Lewis Collection.
5547 Fluorite, Ungerhammerplatzl, Unterlaussa, Austria
Purple fluorite cubes with a number of other small faces, from Ungerhammerplatzl (Platzl), Unterlaussa, Altenmarkt bei Sankt Gallen, Liezen, Styria, Austria.
5548 Vonsenite, Manziana, Italy
An uncommon borate species, vonsenite, from Manziana, Bracciano Lake, Rome Province, Latium, Italy.
5549 Tunisite, Celestine, Calcite, Condorcet, Drôme, France
The tabular tunisite crystals look like colourless wulfenite crystals. The long thin crystals are celestine, and there is also calcite with brownish cores present. Specimen is from Condorcet, Drôme, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France.
5550 Titanite, Plattenkogel north slope, Anlauf valley, Salzburg, Austria
A group of golden titanite crystals, the front one being 2mm across, from Plattenkogel north slope, Anlauf valley, Gastein valley, Hohe Tauern, Salzburg, Austria. Other species present include adularia, a chlorite-group mineral, and albite.
5551 Kinoite, Hydroxyapophyllite-(K), Christmas Mine, Christmas, Gila Co., Arizona, USA
Striking blue kinoite on colourless crystals of hydroxyapophyllite-(K) from the Christmas Mine (Red Bird shafts; Inspiration Mine; Hackberry shafts), Christmas, Christmas area, Banner District, Dripping Spring Mts, Gila Co., Arizona, USA. One of my favourite...
5552 Zincite, An der Seilbahn slag locality, Hüsten, Germany
Yellow hexagonal zincite crystals from the An der Seilbahn slag locality, Hüsten, Arnsberg, Sauerland, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
5553 Topaz, Opal, Conca Cannas quarry, Masullas, Sardinia, Italy
Prismatic and acicular topaz crystals, with opal coating tridymite, and also capping one of the topaz crystals, from the Conca Cannas quarry, Masullas, Mt. Arci, Oristano Province, Sardinia, Italy.
5554 Kidwellite, Indian Mountain, Cherokee Co., Alabama, USA
Fragile tufted kidwellite from Indian Mountain, Cherokee Co., Alabama, USA. Collected in or before 1983.
5555 Analcime, Kutnohorite, Emilie Mine (Bülten-Adenstedt Mine), Peine, Germany
A couple of very sharp analcime crystals nestled amongst pale pink kutnohorite from the Emilie Mine (Bülten-Adenstedt Mine), Peine, Lower Saxony, Germany. It’s nice to see zeolites in unusual combinations.
4923 Almandine, Spotted Tiger Mine, Harts Range, Northern Territory
A lovely red almandine crystal as an inclusion in muscovite mica from the Spotted Tiger Mine, Mt Riddock Station, Harts Range (Harts Ranges; Hartz Range; Hartz Ranges), Central Desert Region, Northern Territory.
1496 Monazite-(Ce), Cow Flat, Torrington, New South Wales
Monazite-(Ce) crystals make up most of the matrix of this specimen from Cow Flat (Bower Bird), Torrington, Clive Co., New South Wales. A couple of smoky quartz crystals are embedded. Ex Australian Museum, Sydney.
8101 Monazite, Kings Bluff, South Australia
Monazite (dominant REE unknown), Kings Bluff Diggings, Olary, Olary Province, South Australia, Australia.
4883 Stolzite, Pyromorphite, Proprietary Mine, Broken Hill, New South Wales
Stunning yellow stolzite crystals associated with cream-yellow-brown hoppered pyromorphite from the old Broken Hill Proprietary Mine (Proprietary Mine; BHP Mine), Broken Hill, Yancowinna Co., New South Wales.
0161 Smoky Quartz, Mooralla, Victoria
One of the most iconic smoky quartz localities in Australia, Mooralla, Southern Grampians Shire, Victoria. This locality, which is a designated fossicking area, has produced many stunning smoky quartz specimens since the 1960s. They occur...
4196 Saléeite, Ranger, Northern Territory
A classic Australian saléeite from the Ranger Mine (Ranger Uranium Mine), Kakadu, West Arnhem Region, Northern Territory. Highly fluorescent as can be seen in the photo below.
3523 Decrespignyite-(Y), Paratoo, South Australia
Lovely pale blue decrespignyite-(Y) from the Type Locality, Paratoo copper mine, Yunta, Olary Province, South Australia. Specimen is 35mm wide.
5529 Gmelinite-Na, Cairns Bay, Flinders area, Victoria
Hard to photograph these very glassy crystals of gmelinite-Na from Cairns Bay, Flinders area, Victoria.
0234 Pseudomalachite, Libethenite, Lake Boga, Victoria
Blue-green pseudomalachite balls on dark green libethenite crystals from the Lake Boga granite quarry, Lake Boga, Swan Hill Rural City, Victoria.
10028 Barite, Fluorite, Quartz, Wulfenite, Unknown black needles, Blue Star prospect, South Canyon District, Dona Ana Co., New Mexico, USA
Colourless and purple fluorite cubes and colourless quartz crystals on white barite. Minor yellow wulfenite. Unknown black needles.
6046 Wulfenite, Mimetite, Red Cloud Mine, Silver District, Trigo Mts, La Paz Co., Arizona, USA
Classic Red Cloud wulfenite crystal group with tiny mimetite crystals.
0877 Dioptase, Wulfenite, Minrecordite, Tsumeb Mine (Tsumcorp Mine), Tsumeb, Otjikoto (Oshikoto) Region, Namibia
2.2×1.6×1.5cm specimen of dioptase crystals with wulfenite crystals and zincian dolomite or minrecordite (not known if tested) from Tsumeb, Namibia. Ex Virgin Valley Sales. View Larger Map | Get Directions
0980 Crocoite, Kapi Mine, Northeast Dundas, Tasmania
Specimen is 40mm across.
