Micromounts and the Future of Collecting

According to some mineral collectors, among whom I include myself,  micromounting has more to offer the  mineral hobbyist and collector than any other niche of mineralogy. Conversely, I've heard seasoned and serious collectors say that the hobby is dying out. "I've checked out their symposia," one notable collector once told me," and there wasn't anyone there under 60." Perhaps he was correct, but things could change.

The relative dearth of young people interested in mineralogy extends beyond  micromounting. Mineral enthusiasts of all stripes lament how their ranks are aging. Possible reasons could be competition wrought by technology, former localities succumbing to sprawl, and increasingly restricted access to quarries, mines, and construction sites. Ever skyrocketing prices for hand and cabinet specimens present another obstacle. Micromounts have the potential to become a big part of the answer.

A partial inspiration for this post was a presentation at the recent Rochester Mineralogical Symposium by Quintin Wight,  probably the world's premier micromounting authority, entitled "The Pleasures of Micromounting," Every year, Quintin travels the globe to attend major micromounting events. He then contributes a major article chronicling  his travels entitled "Through the Scope: The Year in Micromounting" to Rocks and Minerals. Quintin also authored the the beautifully illustrated 273 page hardcover publication The Complete Book of Micromounting, which Mineralogical Record published in 1993.

While Quintin covered much of what this post seeks to communicate, it's important to recognize that he, as well as most of the important players in the world of micromounts define their hobby in terms of "micromounting" and refer to themselves as "micromounters."  Putting together a mount can be time consuming. Quintin has a procedure that takes three days.  Furthermore, for those with poor finger dexterity, mounting a micromineral can be unpleasantly challenging as well as  lead to the destruction of beautiful and sometimes valuable material. Somewhat overlooked in Quintin's presentation was that  one need not be a  a micromounter to collect and love micromounts.

The enjoyment of micromounts requires no more than a binocular microscope and effective lighting. For one interested in photographing micromounts, a trinocular scope is preferable. The pleasures to be enjoyed thereafter are as follows:

• The variety of species to be collected, whether self-collected in the field, purchased, or traded is greater by multiples.  For that matter, many---arguably a majority--- of the most beautiful of the approximately 4700 known mineral species (not to mention varieties of any given species)  require magnification to be appreciated. Many require magnification even to be visible. 
• The quality of crystals as determined by beauty, level of development, and freedom from damage is always going to be the smaller the better.
• More features of a mineral are visible  under the scope.  Included among these features are habits and  associated minerals. 
• Species suitable for micromounting are far more likely to be self-collectible. To collect larger specimens, one has to be able to see them. To collected microscopic minerals, one needs only to know where and how to look for them. 
• Micromounts take up less space than cabinet specimens. Half a cubic foot can hold 500 mounts. 
• Micromounts are far less expensive than cabinet specimens and are affordable to anyone. Quality material for micromounting, including many rare species, can be obtained free from  give-away tables at micromount symposia. 

We note these points as an expression of the potential role of micromounts not just for the future of mineral collecting, but for the present as well.

Kids Take Note: A Rock Shop in Cockeysville

I'd be curious to learn how many members of the Baltimore Mineral Society were aware that a "rock shop" was across the York Road from the Cockeysville Volunteer Fire Department where its members meet on the fourth Wednesday evening of each month. Particularly interesting is that this neighbor is a major local player in a calling that the Society holds dear. It's all about perpetuating the hobby of mineralogy by engaging the interest of young people. 

An enterprise calling itself Beads and Weeds  inside the Pennsylvania Dutch Market hardly seems the kind of establishment where members of the Baltimore Mineral Society would typically expect to find rocks and minerals for sale. The name is because its proprietor, Rhoda Zaid, is a custom bead stringer who originally opened the business as a bead store. That was 17 years ago in Westminster at the "Amish Market" before it moved to Hunt Valley. The "Weeds" part refers to plants that Rhoda has been known to also sell on specific occasions. Otherwise, minerals and a few fossils account for about a third of her inventory. The other two thirds are  divided between beads and jewelry. 

Effectively luring youngsters to the stepped display of minerals that's portrayed in our title image is a gumball machine Rhoda calls "Are You Ready to Rock?." Instead of gum or candy, however, it's filled with small polished stones, sharks teeth, and the occasional lucky crystal. For additional enticement, if a kid returns the plastic bubble that encases the treasure, he/she gets to pick out a free rock. Note also the magnifying glass on the bottom shelf for young prospective buyers to study the minerals that are for sale. The selection is interesting and diverse. I even observed an iridescent siderite specimen from Baltimore County's long built over Arbutus Canyon. The price was just a few dollars. "If you're good while we're shopping, I'll buy you a rock," Rhoda reports having heard mothers tell their kids on more than one occasion. "Anything to get them away from those video games," she adds after a moment's thought. 

Youngsters account for about 40 per cent of those who buy minerals from Rhoda. The rest, she informs me, are adults. If  not avid collectors, some are likely to acquire minerals as home decor. Others, heaven forbid, purchase minerals for their "healing properties."

Adults, of course can better afford some of the more expensive specimens that Rhoda keeps in a glass case adjacent to the open display. Though the price tags are a bit higher, they're neither unreasonable nor out of reach for most pocketbooks. And once kids get hooked, the minerals in the cabinet are perfect for advancing them in their hobby. 

Rhoda mentioned to me that in recent years she has observed increase interest in minerals on the part of young people. Let's hope she's right. 

Tucson 2013

One day in Tucson during the first two weeks of February can provide enough material for a year’s worth of Mineral Bliss posts spread out one per week. It can all be quite overwhelming.

The dinosaurs pictured in the courtyard of the Inn Suites (for over a year now officially named Tucson City Hotel) are mobile. They enhance the atmosphere here at this Martin Zinn hosted Arizona Mineral Show. This is the most popular among serious mineral collectors of the approximately two dozen shows going on around town at this time. Featuring minerals, gems, jewelry, fossils, beads and meteorites, they precede the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society's “big show,” which happens over four days through the middle weekend of February.

Having driven across the country with a brief stop to collect at the Blanchard Mine near Bingham, New Mexico, I arrived at the Inn Suites on Friday, Feb. 1, 2013,  the day before the action there was slated to begin. Notwithstanding, before one could walk beyond the lobby, Dan and Diana Weinrich were waiting in the little adjoining room where they do business each year. Against two walls were cabinets of their typically expensive mineral specimens. Surrounding the other two walls were less expensive boxed minerals the Weinrich’s had keystoned (that means reduced by half) from original prices that were mostly  reasonable to begin with. Having disregarded a favorite aphorism  “Don’t take the first thing off the shelf,” I'm still delighted with my Weinrich purchases two weeks later.

Otherwise, my first stop would have been a second floor room above a courtyard beyond the one where the dinosaurs lurked. lt is the room where the iconic and ever fascinating dealer Alfredo Petrov holds forth each year. Alfredo was only about halfway finished setting up, but already had a small quantity of very interesting minerals on display. From somewhere behind them he lifted a seven pound boulder of river polished gneiss bearing a quartz vein in the shape of a heart. “Anyone looking for a Valentines gift,” he inquired? SOLD to Your's Truly for $40! I correctly anticipated that Mrs. Yi would be overwhelmed when presented with it upon flying in to join me for Valentines Day. Even better, Alfredo provided with this rock with one his signature handwritten labels.

Two days later was Superbowl Sunday. Not a soul at the Clarion Show, the Riverpark Show, the Pueblo Show nor at the Inn Suites, all of which I visited that morning was wearing purple. However dear the fellowship of my mineral friends in Tucson, none would suffice as superbowl watching companions  without sharing my passion for the Baltimore Ravens. Thankfully, a Baltimore friend with no interest in minerals, who had rented a condo 30 miles south in Green Valley and knew I was in Tucson, was kind enough to invite me  to watch the game with him and his family. .

The following week, I returned to Tucson from a side trip to Los Angeles in time to enjoy “Collectors Day” at the posh Westward Look Resort on Ina Road in North Tucson. Each year on this weekend before the Big Show, most of the world’s top high end dealers rent suites to display and sell their best material. The world class minerals in all of these suites attract  museum buyers and well-heeled collectors along with plenty of gawkers. Featured in the Westward Look Lobby each year on Collector's Day is a display featuring selected specimens belonging to a notable collector. This year's  honors went to Kevin Brown, who also is the Gallery Manager at Dr. Rob Lavinsky’s heralded Arkenstone in Richardson, Texas. While  in the lobby, I stepped aside from shooting photographs of Kevin's rocks to make room for Mindat Founder and Chief Executive Joylon Ralph, as he photographed an image of Kevin standing in front of the collection.

Mrs. Yi flew in from Baltimore late that night. The following day, I directed her on a tour of as many shows as time would permit. To impress her with the vastness of what happens in Tucson during February, we made a stop at the humungous annual extravaganza taking place at the Kino Sport Complex. As I ambled about in the out of doors looking over  millions of poor quality overpriced minerals, Mrs. Yi ventured inside the huge tent to find a Colorado based jewelry dealer who sold  her for $100 a ring that had been priced at $160. I beamed upon noting that the featured stone was a polished cab of the rare turquoise family species chalcosiderite.

After a brief side trip to Sedona, Mrs. Yi and I were back in Tucson for the first day of “the big show” on Thursday, Feb. 14, Valentines Day. Because it’s a weekday, fewer people attend than on the following three days, making it much easier to take everything in and make purchases. Each year’s show has a specific theme. This year the show theme was fluorite. It was  chosen because fluorite is a relatively common mineral that's much cherished by collectors for its beauty, as well as diverse colours and habits. Except for theme, the big show is  much the same from year to year. The amazing exhibits, though different each year,  are always in the same place, and the dealers are likely to be working the same spot as the year before.

The big show and all the the other shows leading up to it are much the same in another respect.  Prices different dealers ask can vary drastically for species where the size and quality can suggest equal value. Not at all unusual is for one dealer to be selling for $20 something similar to what another dealer has priced at $200. This speaks even more for how subjective the pricing of minerals can be than the likelihood that a dealer is seeking to take advantage of  buyers. More important, however, than asking price are the prices negotiated negotiated between sellers and shrewd buyers, many of whom are also sellers, when others are not present. Pity the buyer who has not been on the scene long enough to fully understand this aspect of the market.

With the largest extravaganza of its kind anywhere else in the world, Tucson in February offers perspective like no other regarding the various earth science related hobbies and businesses it showcases. As much as viewing and buying, many who attend each year  value being there for the kind of fellowship that is available with others they would otherwise rarely get to see or meet who share their unique interests. That the weather can usually be counted upon to be perfect makes it all the nicer.

An Amazing Visit with Pennsylvania's Joe Dague

It was unbeknownst to me that sulfur crystals such as the one pictured above occurred in Pennsylvania.  As a collector who specializes in minerals collected in Maryland, I'm endlessly amazed and fascinated by the far greater bounty of collectible minerals  from our neighboring state to the north.  Of course, Pennsylvania covers a larger area and has a lot more people prone to pursuit of its mineral bounty.

Last month, I had the pleasure of visiting the very accomplished veteran Pennsylvania field collector who unearthed that sulfur crystal at the Jacksonville Quarry in Centre County.  In the company of his his wife Jeanne as well as other prominent Pennsylvania collectors, Joe Dague has been at it for decades.

Although the primary purpose of my visit was to see some of the pieces he had picked up on outings to Maryland a few miles south  from his Chambersburg quarters, Joe's Pennsylvania specimens distracted me.  Not that he didn't have plenty of great Maryland material, which we will be covering on one of two related posts in the coming months.

Since his Maryland minerals were packed away in flats, some of the  first mineral specimens Joe showed me were in a small cabinet bearing thumbnails. Upon its shelves were more interesting and unusual Pennsylvania minerals  than I could even begin to digest.

How about tyorlite from the McCauley Prospect #17 near Franklin Township in Lycoming County, PA?  To my knowledge and according to all that's posted on Mindat, this is the only locality in Pennsylvania from which tyrolite was ever reported. Sometime after that discovery, about 30 years ago, someone bulldozed the McCauley Prospect  dumps back into its pit, which has long grown over.

Another piece that instantly amazed me was a specimen of enargite altering to conichalcite and cornubite shown at right. Joe collected this from the Lime Bluff Quarry near Muncy, also in Lycoming County.

Grabbing me no less was that green sphalerite at left from the Thomasville underground limestone mine Jackson Township in York County. This specimen came from a find in 1990 by the preeminent Pennsylvania field colletor Bryon N. Brookmyer. When Wendell Wilson, Editor-in-Chief and publisher of Mineralogical Record saw these specimens, he proclaimed them the best green sphalerite he'd ever seen.

In addition to all the rare, unusual and regional species he and Jeanne have collected in the field, their worldwide wurtzite suite could be the best anywhere. It's Joe's favorite species. He explains why:

Jeanne and I collected the wurtzite specimen (pictured at right)  about twenty years ago at a coal strip mine in Elk County, Pa.  I'm especially fascinated by the wurtzite mineral species because the marine shales overlying the Brush Creek and Vanport limestones in western Pennsylvania are the type localities for three wurtzite polymorphs--4H, 6H and 15R.  For natives of Western Pa. such as Jeanne and me, wurtzite remains one of the very few interesting minerals that collectors can find in the old abandoned strip-mine in that area.  In addition to several Pennsylvania sites, we now have wurtzite specimens from 17 localities worldwide.

Another Dague specialty is kimberlite, especially Pennsylvania kimberlite, of course. While no Pennsylvania kimberlite is known to bear diamonds, as it does in Arkansas, Pennsylvania is well known for two kimberlite dikes. The first is the Gates-Adah Dike, which is located in an outcrop along the Mongonahela River where Fayette and Greene Counties meet. The other, the Dixonville-Tanoma Dike is beneath the earth in the Tanoma Coal Mine. Pictured below at left is a kimberlite specimen from a THIRD! little known Pennsylvania  kimberlite dike.An image of it appears below at left.  Per Joe,  here's the scoop:

(It's) a rock sample of the third known kimberlite dike in Pennsylvania--the Ernest mine kimberlite. Jeanne and I collected this sample  on August 22, 2009.  Our find of this specimen confirmed its previously suspected existence, and it is now the third known kimberlite dike in western Pennsylvania, and the first to be discovered here in nearly a century.

And that's not all. While my research may not be exhaustive, it's clear that little if anything has been written regarding a kimberlite dike existing  in Maryland. Regardless, Joe showed me and allowed me to photograph for publication here a specimen of Maryland kimberlite. Please stay tuned on this one. It will be the subject of yet another subsequent post in several months.

Maryland Minerals: S to Z

This is the  fourth and final part of our compendium for the Maryland Minerals website seeking to list all mineral species and varieties of species known to have occurred in Maryland. As in the previous three portions of that compenium, the name of any major mineral family and/or group to which a species or variety belongs appears in parenthesis next to the species/variety name. Duly noted on the list also are a relatively few questionable or unverified occurrences. Also included and similarly noted are the names of species that the I.M.A. has since discredited. Images of Maryland-collected specimens arranged by county for many of these species can be viewed at the website's Maryland-collected minerals slideshow.


For nearly all of information in this compendium, we are grateful to the following sources:

Minerals of Maryland by Charles Ostrander and Walter E. Price, Jr., Natural History Society of Maryland, 1940
Minerals of the Washington, D.C. Area by Lawrence R. Bernstein, Maryland Geological Survey, 1980
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Database.
Mindat

Continuing through the end of the alphabet, subsequent posts will cover the names of additional minerals that have been collected in Maryland.

Samarskite                                                                                
Saponite  ?
Scapolite (member of Scapolite Group)
Scheelite
Scolecite
Selenite (see Gypsum)
Sepiolite
Sericite (synonym for mucscovite)
Siderite
Siegenite (member Linnaeite Group)
Sillimanite
Silver
Smagardite (var. Actinolite, a member of Amphibole Group)
Smithsonite
Soapstone (see Talc)
Spessartine (Garnet Group)
Sphalerite
Spherosiderite

Sphene (synonym of Titanite, a member of Titanite Group) Spinel (Member of Spinel Group)
Staurolite
Stellerite
Stibiconite (Member of Romeite Group)
Stibnite
Stilbite (Member of Zeolite Group)
Stilpnomelane
Strengite
Strontianite
Strunzite (Member of Strunzite Group)
Succinite (synonym for Amber)
Sulfur
Talc
Tantalite (Discredited by IMA, see Columbite)
Tenorite
Tetradymite (Member of Tetradymite Group)
Tetrahedrite
Thulite (var. of Zoisite)
Thuringite  (a ferroan varitey of Chamosite)
Titanite (a member of Titanite Group)
Todorochite
Topaz
Torbernite
Tourmaline (synonymous with Tourmaline Group)
Tremolite (Member of Tremolite-Actinolite Series within Amphibole Group)
Turgite (a mixture of Goethite and Hematite-rejected by IMA)
Uralite
Uraninite (?)
Vermiculite (Alteration product of Mica that's a member of  Montmorillonite-Vermiculite Group)
Vesuvianite
Vivianite

Wad (Generic name for various manganese Oxides)
Water
Wavellite
Wernerite (a variety of Scapolite)
Williamsite (a variety of Antigorite a member of Serpentine Group)
Withamite (a variety of Epidote)
Wollastonite (a member of Wollastonite Group)
Wurtzite (Member of Wurtzite Group)
Xenotime
Xonotlite (Member of Xonotlite Group)
Zaratite
Zeolite Family
Zinnwaldite (Member of Mica Group)
Zircon
Zoisite

Maryland Minerals: M to P

This is the third part of  our compendium for the Maryland Minerals website seeking to list all mineral species and varieties of species known to have occurred in  Maryland. As in the previous two portions of that compenium, the  name of any major mineral family and/or group to which a species or variety belongs appears in parenthesis next to the species/variety name. Duly noted on the list also are a relatively few questionable or unverified occurrences.  Also included and similarly noted are the names of  species that the I.M.A. has since discredited. Images of Maryland-collected specimens arranged by county for many of these species can be viewed at the website's  Maryland-collected minerals slideshow.

For nearly all of  information in this compendium, we are grateful to the following sources:

• Minerals of Maryland by Charles Ostrander and Walter E. Price, Jr.,  Natural History Society of Maryland, 1940
• Minerals of the Washington, D.C. Area by Lawrence R. Bernstein, Maryland Geological Survey, 1980
• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Database.
• Mindat

Continuing through the end of the alphabet, subsequent posts will cover the names of additional minerals that have been collected in Maryland.

Mackinawite
Magnesioferrite (Member of Spinel Group)
Magnesite

Magnetite (Member of Spinel;Group)
Malachite
Malacolite (rarely used synonym for Diopside)
Manganite
Manganocalcite (synonym for Manganoan Calcite)
Marcasite
Margarite (member of Mica Group)

Marmolite (synonym for both Chrisotile and Lizardite of Serpentine Group)
Meerschaum (German synonym for Sepiolite)
Melaconite (synonum of Tenorite)
Melanterite (principal species of Melanterite Group)
Metatorbernite (Member of Meta-autunite Group)
Mica Family
Microcline  Member of Feldspar Group)
Microlite (Member of Pyrochlore Supergroup)
Millerite
Mizzonite (Synonym  of Marialite, a member of scapolite group)
Molybdenite- First identified in the United States at Jones Falls Quarries
Monazite (member of Monazite Group)
Moonstone (variety of Microcline and sometimes Orthoclase-both members of Feldspar Group)
Moss Agate (variety of Chalcedony, a variety of Quartz)
Mountain Leather (a leathery variety of Asbestos)
Muscovite (member of Mica Group)
Natrolite (member of Zeolite Group)
Niccoline

Niccolite (Italian name for Niccoline)
Nontronite (Member of Smectite Group)
Oligoclase (Member of Feldspar Group)
Olivine (Member of Olivine Group)
Opal
Ophicalcite (same as Ophiolite or Verde Antique)
Orthoclase (Member of Feldspar Group)
Ottrelite (Member of Chloritoid Group)
Owenite (a variety of Antigorite a member of the Serpentine Family)
Paragonite (Member of Mica Group)
Pectolite (a member of the Wollastonite Group)

Pennine (a Variety of Clinochlore)

Phenakite
Phillipsite
Phlogopite (Member of Mica Group)
Picotite (Variety of Hercynite rejected as such by IMA is actually Chromian Hercynite)
Picrolite (Variety of Antigorite, a member of Serpentine Family)
Piedmonite (Member of Epidote Group)
Pigeonite (Member of Pyroxene Group)
Plaglioclase Family (Series member of Feldspar Group)
Platinum
Pleonaste (a variety of Spinel)
Porcellophite (synonym for Antigorite, a member of Serpentine Family
Prochlorite (Synonym of Clinochlore)
Prehnite
Psilomelane (can refer to various  manganese black oxides such as Pyrolusite or Manganite)
Pseudomalachite
Pyrite (Member of Pyrite Group)
Pyrolusite
Pyromorphite
Pyrope (Member of Garnet Group)
Pyrophyllite (Member of Pyrophyllite -Talc Group)
Pyroxene Family
Pyrrhotite
Quartz

Maryland Minerals: D to L

This is the second part of  our  compendium for the Maryland Minerals website seeking to list all mineral species and varieties of species known to have occurred in  Maryland. As in the first A to C portion, the  name of any major mineral family to which a species or variety belongs appears in parenthesis next to the species/variety name. Duly noted on the list also are a relatively few questionable or unverified occurrences.  Also included and similarly noted are the names of  species that the I.M.A. has since discredited. Images of Maryland-collected specimens arranged by county for many of these species are at the website's  Maryland-collected minerals slideshow.

For nearly all of  information in this compendium, we are grateful to the following sources.

• Minerals of Maryland by Charles Ostrander and Walter E. Price, Jr.,  Natural History Society of Maryland, 1940
• Minerals of the Washington, D.C. Area by Lawrence R. Bernstein, Maryland Geological Survey, 1980
• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Database.
• Mindat

Continuing through the end of the alphabet, subsequent posts will cover the names of additional minerals that have been collected in Maryland.

Here is the list from D to F:

Deweylite

Dickite

Diopside
Dolomite
Dravite (member of Tourmaline Group)

Dumortierite

Electrum

Enstatite

Epidote (Member of Epidote Group)

Erythrite

Fibrolite (variety of Sillimanite)

Flint (variety of Quartz)
Fluorite
Fluorapatite

Franklinite

Fuchsite (var. of Muscovite, a member of Mica Group)

Gahnite

Galena

Garnierite

Genthite

Garnierite

Genthite 

Glauconite (member of Mica Group)

Glaucophane (member of Amphibole Group)

Goethite

Gold

Graphite

Grossular (member of Garnet Group)
Gymnite (see Deweylite)

Gypsum

Halite

Halloysite (member of Serpentine Group)

Harmotome (member of Zeolite Group)

Hematite

Hemimorphite

Hessonite (var. of Grossular, a member of Garnet Family

Heulandite (Member of Zeolite Group)

Hisingerite (?)

Hornblende
Huntite
Hyalite (synonym of Opal-AN)

Hydromagnesite

Hydrotalcite (member of hydtrotalcite group)
Hydrozincite

Hyspersthene (name discredited by IMA)

Ice

Iceland Spar (a distinct form of Calcite)
Idaite
Jarosite

Idocrase (synonym for Vesuvianite)

Ilmenite (member of Ilmenite Group)

Iron (in meteorites)

Jasper (var. of Chalcedony (var. of Quartz)

Jefferisite (synonym for Vermiculite)

Kammererite (synonym for Chromian Clinochlore)

Kaolinite

Kyanite

Labradorite (member of Feldspar Group)
Lanthanite

Laumontite (member of Zeolite Group)
Leucoxene

Limonite
Linarite

Linnaeite (member of Linnaeite Group)
Lipscombite
Ludjibaite

          

Maryland Minerals: A to C

This is the first part of a  compendium for the Maryland Minerals website seeking to list all mineral species and varieties of species known to have occurred in  Maryland. The name of any major mineral family to which a species or variety belongs appears in parenthesis next to the species/variety name. Duly noted on the list also are a relatively few questionable or unverified occurrences.  Also included and similarly noted are the names of  species that the I.M.A. has since discredited. Images of Maryland-collected specimens arranged by county for many of these species may be at the website's  Maryland-collected minerals slideshow.

For nearly all of  information in this compendium, we are grateful to the following sources.

• Minerals of Maryland by Charles Ostrander and Walter E. Price, Jr.,  Natural History Society of Maryland, 1940
• Minerals of the Washington, D.C. Area by Lawrence R. Bernstein, Maryland Geological Survey, 1980
• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Database.
• Mindat

Continuing through the end of the alphabet, subsequent posts will cover the names of additional minerals that have been collected in Maryland. 

Here is the list from A to C:

Actinolite   (member of Amphibole Group)
Albite    (member of Feldspar Group)
Allanite 
Almandine  (member of Garnet Group)

Alum

Alunite 

Alunogen? 

Amazonite   (var. of Microcline, a member of Feldspar Group)
Amber 

Amesite  

Amethyst   (var. of quartz)
Analcime
Anatase
Andalusite
Andradite   (member of Garnet Group)  

Anglesite

Ankerite

Annite (member of Mica Group)

Anorthite   (member of Feldspar Group;  

Anorthoclase   (member of Feldspar Group)

Anthophyllite   (member of Amphibole Group)

Antigorite   (member of Serpentine Group)

Anthophyllite  (member of Amphibole Group)
Apatite
Apophyllite 

Aragonite                                                                                                        

Arfvedsonite (member of the Amphibole Group)
Argentiferous  Galena (var. of Galena)

Asbestos  (a name for finely fibrous Amphibole Group and Serpentine Group members)

Augite  (member of the Pyroxene Group) \
Aurichalcite

Autunite 

Axinite  (member of the Axinite Group)  

Azovskite  (according to Mindat, a species of questionable status, possibly identical to Delvauxite) and reported via oral conversation only.

Barite

Bastite (serpentine group variety relating to pseudomorphs after Enstatite)

Beaumontite (early name and/or synonymb for Heulandite, member of Zeolite Group)

Beidellite

Bertrandite
Beryl 
Biotite (member of Mica Group discredited by the I.M.A.)
Bornite
Breunnerite   (var. of Ferroan Magesite)

Brochantite

Bronzite   (var. of Enstatite

Brookite

Brucite

Byssolite  (member of Amphibole Group)

Bytownite   (variety of Anorthite, a member of Feldspar Group)

Cacoxenite

Calamine (an informal name known to refer to hemimorphite, smithsonite, and hydrozincite)

Calcite 

Carnelian (a var. of Chalcedony, which is a variety of Quartz)

Carrollite (member of Linnaeite Group)

Cassiterite

Celestine

Cerussite

Chabazite (Member of Zeolite Group)

Chalcanthite

Chalcedony (var. of Quartz)

Chalcocite

Chalcopyrite

Chalcotrichite (var. of Cuprite)
Chamosite

Chert  (var. of Chalcedony, which is a variety of Quartz)

Chlorite Group

Chlroritoid

Chrome Tourmaline (var. of Tourmaline)

Chromite

Chrysocolla

Chrysolite (synonym for Olivine and/or Prehnite)

Chrysotile (Member of Serpentine Group)

Cinnabar

Citrine (var. of Quartz)

Cleavelandite (var. of Albite,  a member of Feldspar Group)

Clinochlore (Member of Chlorite Group)

Clinozoisite (member of Epidote Group)

Coalingite 

Cobaltiferrous Gahnite (see Gahnite)

Coccolite (synonym for Diopside)

Collophane (carbonate rich var. Apatite found in fossil bone)
Columbite (member of Columbite Group)

Copper (Native);

Corundophilite (discredited by the I.M.A., member of Chlorite Group)

Corundum

Covellite

Cummingtonite   (member of Amphibole Group) 
Cuprite

John Ebner's Ultimate Vintage Micromount Collection

In the glass-topped cabinets behind John Ebner (above) is  a collection of mineral micromounts like no other. The title on wooden signs heralding the collection reads "MICROMOUNTS: PAST AND PRESENT:" Beneath this title, a list of explanatory basics  reads as follows:

• Micromounts are mineral specimens that require magnification (generally 5x to 30x) and illumination for proper observation.
• They may be of any size.
• A variety of mountings have been used over the years since micromounting began.
• Records indicate the earliest mounted micro specimens were on glass slides.
• In 1870, the Rev. G.C. Rakestraw begam using paper ring boxes. He then went to making his own boxes covered inside and out with black paper. These boxes were called "Rakestraws" or "box mounts." 
• Today you can find micromounts in many types of containers, but predominately in plastic boxes about 7/8" x 7/8" x 3/4" in size. 
• A few of the many varieties are displayed here with the mounters name, if known, and the the mineral therein. 

The image at left captures about half the contents of just one of four glass-topped wooden cabinets that house John's collection. Included are early mountings on glass slides, a few of the Rev. Rakestraw's round paper ring boxes, and the square paper boxes that evolved from them. Such boxes were prevalent until the mid- 20th Century.

The image at right shows a section of contents from a  second cabinet. At the far end are mounts  in the kind of plastic boxes commonly used today. While historical in perspective,  this second cabinet focuses  exclusively on work relating to micromounters inducted into the Micromounters Hall of Fame. Along with pertinent memorabilia, it includes at least one mount of every member. The Baltimore Mineral Society established the Micromounters Hall of Fame in 1976 at its 21st Annual Desautels Micromount Symposium  to recognize micromounters, past and present,  pursuant to the following guidelines:

The purpose of the Micromounters’ Hall of Fame is to honor those who have served this hobby to the highest degree. They are the leaders, the movers and shakers of the past and present who have shown the way for the rest of us. They have not only built sizable collections, but they also have earned and deserved a worldwide reputation among mineral collectors in general and especially among micromounters.

Members of the Micromounters Hall of Fame range from the late Rev. Rakestraw, who died in 1904, to Rod Martin of New Zealand, who was inducted September, 29, 2012 at the 56th Annual Symposium. John Ebner was inducted in 1997.
  

A third cabinet bespeaks a unique niche of micromount collecting  about which John is particularly passionate.  All of the 373 specimens therein were mounted by the person after whom they were named.

John's penchant for acquiring these mounts began in 1982, with the acquisition of a whitmorite specimen mounted by Bob Whitmore, owner of the legendary Palermo Mine in North Groton, New Hampshire.  Soon John had filled a case with such mounts and  began schlepping them from home in New Jersey to numerous conferences, shows, and symposia. The collection has since grown to four cases bearing  mounts dated from the 1850's to the late 2012's.

Putting it together has led John to network with a myriad of  leading mineral people around the world who enthusiastically assist him with  acquisitions by sharing contacts and arranging for introductions as called for.  "The best by-product of all this," John says, " is all the new friends I've made."

Most of the mounted specimens are of very rare species, some for which the only known occurrences are microscopic. The collection also includes numerous specimens that enjoy a level of aesthetic perfection unknown to their species other than through the scope.

If there is a downside to owning such a collection, it has to do with the careful placement of all the mounts within within the heavy  and relatively flat cabinets that house them. "This makes it so that I hardly ever get to see them through the scope," John laments.

John White and a Rock Pile

Actually we  were trespassing as we peered through a pile of rocks dumped just a few feet off a lonely country road in York County, Pennsylvania near Delta. John White and I  had  tried unsuccessfully to locate the landowner. In the process, we learned that the a local power company had dumped the rocks there in conjunction with a project that never happened. Hopefully, the landowner wouldn't mind.

John had expressed interest in these rocks over the past year and had encouraged me to check them out. He had described the material as "just serpentine rock."  For reasons that hindsight now renders lame,  I had not yet done so. What was wrong with me? When a past Curator-in-Charge of the national mineral collection who also founded Mineralogical Record gets excited about a site less than an hour's drive away, it's worth a look.

Then last week, John emailed me an invite to see some of the rocks he'd purchased at the recent Denver show. Attached was the image shown at left. It pictures cabs from material John had found when he first discovered the aforementioned rock pile last year.  His email suggested that after looking at his Denver acquisitions, we drive there.

We did and ended up crawling over the pile of serpentinite rocks. There were numerous pieces worthy of John's cabs. Antigorite was abundant, especially  the columnar picrolite variety. Colors ranged from  very light green to very dark green. Gemmy coatings of medium to dark green  antigorite occasionally comprised the rocks' surfaces. This antigorite was slightly translucent, but less so than antigorite (var.) williamsite.  It also lacked those chromite spots so definitive of williamsite. The  rock beneath the antigorite was grainy, dull greenish gray and black, possibly chrome-bearing, and iron-bearing almost for sure. Though we didn't have magnets, John had learned  when the cabs from his earlier find were made  that much of the black material here was magnetic.

One specimen that particularly interested me is the quartz (var.) prase shown at right. Is presence along with the serpentinite strongly suggests that the rocks on this pile were from the neighboring Cedar Hill or Penn-Maryland Quarries just a few miles east in Lancaster Couty at Fulton Township. Both quarries exploit the same kind of serpentinite rock that's part of the Baltimore Mafic Complex.

 Another piece that impressed me features an intersection of massive magnetite with pale green antigorite (var.) picrolite. Were it chromite rather than magnetite meeting that picrolite, I suspect some williamsite would be gracing the picture as well. Assuming that the rocks originated at either the Cedar Hill or Penn- Maryland Quarries, such a find would seem reasonable. Chromite as well as magnetite is known to occur at both localities

All told, we spent less than an hour at the rock pile. We departed because we were hungry and still marginally clean enough to be served a hearty lunch at a family restaurant a few miles away.

 Thereafter, we continued about ten miles further on  to check out ---with permission---the edges of another rock pile that John knew about. It consisted mostly of  "Wissahickon schist."  We quickly uncovered some graphite, pyrite, and siderite.  This was a much bigger pile of rocks. Unfortunately,  later commitments limited the amount of time we had to see as much of it as we would have liked. Stay tuned.

The 2012 East Coast Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show,

This year's East Coast Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show held at the Better Living Center-Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Massachusetts, was grand. It impressed me more than any of the the six shows here, beginning in 2007, that I've attended. The basic layout was the same: big hall with ten aisles bordered on each side by dealers of gems, fossils, and mostly minerals. Beyond the easternmost hall was a curtain to partition off a section for wholesalers and buyers with resale tax numbers. Each day the show featured two guest speaker presentations in a smaller room up some steps. They included Bob Jones, Professor Nancy Millard, and Kevin Downey on topics relating to the colour of minerals, the history of collecting, and caves. 

As in the past, the entrance room featured  exhibits and magazines (ie. Rocks and Minerals,  Mineralogical Record) .Usually the exhibits display specimens from an individual private mineral collection. This year, the theme focused on the watercolor art of Fred Wilda. After  becoming fascinated with minerals about 15 years ago, Wilda, a Massachusetts aftist soon began to specialize in painting them. He has since become renowned for them in mineralogical circles and beyond.  Our title image shows a Wilda painting of an aquamarine from the Tripp Mine in Cheshire County, New Hampshire. The subject specimen sits immediately below accompanied by a vast assortment of other New England gem minerals.  In addition to the exhibits lining the room and the magazines was a microscope equipped desk offering mineral identification. 

A pleasant precursor to a long day of schmoozing and acquiring ---I was only there on Friday, Aug.10---was what first met my eye in the main hall. Green Mountain Minerals of Garrison, New York,  had an array of mineral specimens for sale at eyepoppingly reasonableprices. They had  rows of $5 specimens and $10 specimens. Some of them could probably have commanded far more.Within less than a minute, my wallet was lighter. 

John Betts had set up nearby. He was so busy, I never got to chat with this consummate dealer and proponent of mineralogy. Nearby was Terry Szenics. Want  some  of the eponymous rare szenicsite from Inca d' Oro, Chile that's so popular with collectors? Terry had plenty on hand including a couple of small pieces for as little as $10, larger and showier once for bigger bucks. Not far away, Alfredo Petrov commanded his typical eclectic array of obscure, interesting, and sometimes almost arcane minerals  and as usual had plenty of stories to tell.  One of several that I caught  was about a benitoite find in Japan. The occurrence, albeit microscopic, was in rhodonite. Alfredo suggested that the geologic conditions encouraged speculation as to whether future benitoite finds could be lurking  in certain unnamed rhodonite deposits in California.

Plodding through the hall the entire day, I encountered a few significant "new finds"  and likely missed plenty morel. Michael Walter's Geologic Desires (Nicholville, New York) had a new find from the Rose Road Site in Pitcairn, New York, of diopside that was purple, possibly due to low iron. Another Geologic Desires find was of peristerite (think albite, moonstone) along with some scapolite from the Ellis Farm locality at Macomb, New York. Ryan Smith of Ryan Smith Minerals had a new find of baryte from the Linwood Mine,in Buffalo, Iowa. The crystals were "smokier"  than any Linwood Mine barytes I'd previously seen. Mr. Smith explained how he'd obtained them directly from a geologist with a special permit to collect at the locality.

Speaking of having having sources with access to a locality,  Dan and Diana Weinrich (Weinrich Minerals)  might have taken the cake, just like last year. On tables next to  glass encased cabinets of high end specimens, I joined buyers who were scarfing up keystoned lower end minerals faster than the Weinrich's could lay them out. Some  were of superior quality, many  from the Sweetwater Mine, Vibernum Trend, Reynolds County, Missouri. Dan and Diana know a miner there who has been supplying them with seemingly endless material for years.  Can you believe that from amidst these pieces I scored the almost nine inch Sweetwater Mine calcite crystal pictured at right for $24?

Being from Maryland and with a penchant for regional minerals, one reason this show was so special for me was its East Coast focus. With about 120 dealers, it would seem  small  for being the biggest show  within such a vast and  populous a region. Though the dealers come from all over  (at least within the United States), many were East Coast dealers with plenty of East Coast mineral specimens  for sale. Much of the material is from older collections that these dealers have purchased or arranged to sell on consignment. Specimens so acquired often tend to bear enticingly reasonable price tags.

The highlight of the show for me was Steve Carter's Penn Minerals concession. Earlier this year, the selections from Pennsylvania that he as well as Joe Dague were selling at the Macungie Show in June had dazzled me. What Steve was selling here at West Springfield dazzled me even more.  In less that ten minutes, I'd filled a flat. The cerussite specimen pictured at left from the long closed and inaccessible Wheatley Mine in Phoenixville for $150 was my main purchase of the show. 

Seeing and schmoozing with mineral people at this show is as much fun as scoring new minerals.  I was privileged to join Joe Polityka, of Allentown, Pennsylvania for a late lunch at the Good Living Center's pathetic food concession. Joe's been Mineralogical Record's reporter  on the East Coast Show for more than a decade. He also opined that this year's show was particularly enjoyable. It will be interesting to read what he will have to say when his article appears, presumably in the Nov.-Dec. 2012 Minrec. Since we were grabbing a bite, we talked some about food as well as minerals.It's a topic Joe has touched on in some of his past articles. From the places he mentioned,  I suspect he had yet to find his way to the place I would discover about seven hours later. 

Having spent several hours hours after the day's show  in a hotel room logging my purchases,  I ventured out quite late and on my own, ending up at the Federal just a few miles up Route 5 in Agwam where good fortune afforded me the sole open stool at  the bar. The Federal is a creative "New American" restaurant just a few miles up Route 5 in Agwam.  I don't believe anything comparable exists in or anywhere near so close to Springfield or West Springfield. Though it was packed, I didn't recognize any familiar faces from the show. The people next to me had made a special trip all the way from Hartford. My dinner of a fresh garden gaspacho bearing half a fresh lobster tail and topped  with wasabi oil and baby cilantro followed by a "twelve ingredient salad" were outstanding. I only wish more mineral friends shared my penchant for elaborate food. 

Minerals at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History

The Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh is grand. Its Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems is a must see. A recent visit there  was my only mineral related excursion worth writing about during the canicular days of  the past six weeks. The time was well-spent, however, in air-conditioned comfort, working on a New Years Resolution for 2012 to catalog  my collection.  The inspiration to get moving with this evolved while writing the most recent Mineral Bliss post, which lamented a seasonal lull in mineralogical activities.

One of the first exhibits to meet one's eye upon entering the Hillman Hall of Minerals  features zeolites from India. They are of a genre that has become ubiquitous to mineral displays in recent years. More interesting to me  were nearby exhibits designed to educate the observer on some simple,  though often overlooked facts about geology, fossils, and  particularly minerals.  With illustrations and words, one particularly impressive exhibit  demonstrated and explained with remarkable precision as well as brevity the basic premises of crystallography.  Another explaining pseudomorphs was just as enlightening.  Further along, a kinetic exhibit featuring a giant microscope replica sought to explain how  magnification contributes to mineralogical perspective. Informative for sure, although  the fixed photographic images could have been sharper as they flashed on a screen in conjunction with corresponding micromounts passing beneath the scope.

The mostly mirrored walls of Hillman Hall's "Masterpiece Gallery" minerals make the hall seem larger than it actually is. At the entrance is a two sided cabinet featuring minerals from Pennsylvania.This could well be the premier collection of spectacular Pennsylvania Minerals in the world.

 Except for the Pennsylvania minerals, labeling of the specimens  in the Masterpiece Gallery mentions only the state or country where collected. Particularly impressive by virtue of its unusual habit is the legrandite specimen shown at left. from "Mexico," even though anyone familiar with the species knows that more specifically it would be from Mapimi.  Perhaps such omission is for the sake of labeling consistency, especially should more specific locality information be unknown for certain pieces. Another specimen to stop me in my tracks was the Bolivian vivianite specimen at right. Though I didn't measure, my recollection is that it was about a foot long. Could that be possible? All of the minerals displayed in this hall are exquisitely lit and amazing to contemplate, some very likely the best of their species known to exist.

 Adjoining the Masterpiece Gallery is the Wertz Gallery of Gems and Jewelry. Having been dazzled by the minerals,  the time remaining for me to enjoy its displays was all too short.

The typical visitor to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History's Hillman Hall of Minerals and gems sees but a fraction of  one per cent of the 27,000 specimens that are part of its collection. While these include many of the specimens likely to attract the most general interest, untold other pieces would be no less worthy of display. The Carnegie Museum is to be commended for having  catalogued ninety per cent of the pieces that it owns.   

The Off-Season

From left to right: Muscovite from  Rangi, Tanzania, Tangerine Quartz from Minas Gerais; Vivianite from near Potosi, Bolivia; Spinel from Jensen Quarry, Riverside, California, Rutile from Graves Mtn., GA.

These are five of the six "stones" cited by The Book of Stones by Robert Simmons and Naisha Ahsian as metaphysical catalysts for "inspiration."  The last time inspiration was necessary  for Mineral Bliss to come up with a topic, we resorted to a post about the dichotomy between what the good stones book preaches and  the various earth sciences that mineralogy embraces.


 Late June through July  isn't mineral season. Heat and high vegetation get in the way of field collecting; academia is mostly in recess; and as the operator of a mineral store on eBay, I can attest that business has slowed down considerably.  Thanks to air conditioning, the onset of these canicular days  heralds tackling the paperwork so oft neglected when the weather outside is more to my liking.  It's a time to deal with photography and writing, if not through blogging, at least to shoot minerals and write up their descriptions for listings in the store, not to mention edit those riddled with typos and catachresis ?  Or just as important: cataloging my mineral collection. 

The importance of cataloging one's mineral collection would otherwise be great topic for a blog post right now. Doing so was my New Year's resolution for 2012.   Deciding to use Excel software and perusing a DVD to explain how Excel  works is as far as it's gotten. Time is running short. A week with family at the beach in July is committed, and after that how much fun it would be to drive cross country and back checking out mineral localities along the way.

For now, at least, I think I'll go into Excel, enter the five rocks shown in our title picture, and see where it goes from there.

By August, minerals will be back into season. The East Coast Gem and Fossil Show in West Springfield, Massachussetts will happen August 10-12. After that, the ad in Rocks and Minerals heralding the Dallas Mineral Collecting Symposium on August 25  reads the event will be killer. Come September, mineral season will be in high gear and will stay there til once again it's summer.

Feldspar Mining in Maryland

Pictured above at the long abandoned Tunnel Feldspar Mine in Howard County, are Maryland Park Service Supervisor for Patapsco Valley State Park Michael Burditt and Jeff Nagy. The latter's work continues regarding an updated revision of the 1980 Maryland Geological Survey publication Minerals of the Washtington, D.C. Area. Nagy located the Tunnel Mine by first researching literature written in the 1920's at the Maryland Geological Survey. Later, he reached the site after assuming that what today is a driveway appeared as "Tunnel Road" on a 70 year old map. The 1940 Natural History Society of Maryland publication Minerals of Maryland by Ostrander and Price also mentions the Tunnel Mine.  Noted is  how the adit "cuts into pegmatite rich in white potash feldspar." Located less than a mile into Howard County beyond Marriottsville, it is on land that the State of Maryland leases to active present farming interests. 

The adit leads into a water-filled tunnel about 150 yards to the left as one heads up the driveway. Nagy does not know how far back it leads. Minerals of Maryland reports the occurrence of "white cleavage microcline, microcline crystals, a little mucscovite, biotite, and black tourmaline" at the mine.  In the mica schist close by, were reported kyanite, staurolite, garnets, limonite psueudomorph after pyrite, and quartz crystals." Nagy has also perused literature from the U.S. Geological Survey citing  the Tunnel Mine as a locality for beryl. But today, vegetation has long covered any dumps that may once have been, and the face of the cliffs near and surrounding the adit show little to attract collectors. 

Interestingly, the available literature (unless we have missed something) shows the Tunnel Mine as Maryland's only feldspar mine.  Less than a mile away, however, about hundred yards upstream from Marriottsville along the Carroll County bank of the Patapsco, is an adit leading into what obviously  was another feldspar mine. The Maryland DNR Trail Guide has even mapped this  adit as a cave. Water has not invaded it. Nagy ventured  inside  in 2010 with Maryland collector Fred Parker and a reporter from NPR  to broadcast a story about the mine's existence. Nagy recalls the opening reaching back approximately 300 navigable feet. 

Based on  personal visits to both localities, as well as input from Jeff Nagy and Fred Parker, the likelihood of finding collectible minerals at either locality is slim at best. Regardless, laws prohibiting collecting  in the Patapsco Valley State Park are rigidly enforced. Breaking them entails  theft of State property.  Access to see the Tunnel Mine would require permission  from the active farmers who rent the land as well as the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.  The adit along the banks of the Patapsco near Marriottsville Road, however, is accessible to the curious, all the more so during seasons when the surrounding vegetation is minimal.