Gail's NEW favourite of the day, PART 2

Philip, the ferberite and fluorite piece is lovely. Great specimen/great price.

The rutilated quartz is also very interesting. Not surprising to find that they are produced at that location, but not something one often sees.

Very nice finds, both.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/18/2012 05:24AM by Joan Kureczka.

Todays favourite - 'Cos I collected it exactly 50 years ago (18th March 1962) at the Blagill mine. A Happy Birthday snap; the FOV is about 7 x 6 mm. Barytocalcite...



Many thanks to all for the lovely photos and stories.

Cheers

Tim

Thanks for the kind words Gail. Sometimes things just come together at the right moment.

Timothy, congrats on your semi-century birthday specimen! Obviously it was a keeper!

I have never really collected much orpiment but something about this piece peaked my interest. The sparkling calcite makes for a nice backdrop. I was pleasantly surprised to find a few tufts of picropharmacolite that I didn't notice until closer inspection as they were hiding in the vug.

Orpiment on Calcite with Picropharmacolite
Jiepaiyu Mine (Shimen Mine), Shimen (Huangchang) As-(Au) deposit, Shimen Co., Changde Prefecture, Hunan Province, China
FOV in close-up ~2cm
Overall ~7cm x 5cm

My fave for the day - Zeolite from Poona, India

Amanda

Hi Amanda, what you have there is a very nice calcite coated in quartz druse, so these would not actually be zeolites. There is a tendency to label all the material from India as zeolites, however there are many shipped out with the zeolites that are not. Some examples are apophyllite, prehnite, okenite, calcite, chalcedony, these are not zeolites. I just love Indian calcites and chalcedonys. Nice specimen in any case.

regards,
stephanie

Hi all,

Thank you all for shearing these beauties.
Gail, that spodumene looks like " Superman's crystals " in his ice castle on the arctic.

Here's mine for today Millerite from the Zollverein mine in Germany: [www.mindat.org]

Zenjoy.

Take care and best regards.

Paul.

Hi Stephanie

Oops, my mistake, yep, it came with a load of zeolites and i forgot what it was ! Senior moment

Amanda

Thought I would share another Fluorite I acquired recently. Can't stop looking at it.

Fluorite on Sphalerite from the Elmwood mine in Tennessee. Cubes about 5,5-6cm's on edge.

A classic epidote with quartz and calcite from Alaska is today's favorite. 11.7 x 14.4 cm.

© A&M

Sulphur

Amanda

Am love your Prince of Wales Epidote, i have always loved Epidotes from that locality,
This is my Epidote & Quartz from the same locality, acquired in1979,
size 6.5cm wide x 5.0

This little specimen caught my eye today.



Bornite with pyrite and quartz, Steward Mine, Butte, Silver Bow County, Montana. Bornite crystal 0.5x0.6 cm. Circa: early 1960's.

Cheers!

Steve

Great photos Folks!

I thought I would join in and dote on more epidote... my latest favourite that just arrived last week.
An interesting formation that I have named "Heart of Garnet" (alluding to "Heart of Darkness"). These epidotes radiate around almandine centres and make for a flower-like appearance. There is another smaller one on the back. Ex. Bill Plavac (via Doug Wilson).

Epidote, Almandine, Calcite, on undetermined matrix
Near French River, Ontario, Canada
Overall size ~ 8cm x 6cm
blossom size ~ 2.5cm x 2.0cm





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2012 05:11AM by Stephanie Martin.

Rutile - Lengenbach Quarry, Im Feld (Imfeld; Feld; Fäld), Binn Valley, Wallis (Valais), Switzerland

Nicest 1.8 mm multicolor Rutile crystal. Collection & Photo Matteo Chinellato



Mindat Page

[www.mindat.org]


Attrezzatura e tecnica sono solo l'inizio. È il fotografo che conta più di tutto. (John Hedgecoe)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2012 07:20AM by Matteo Chinellato.

Today's fave:-

Bournonite, Cornwall, UK (mine unknown at the present)

Amanda



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2012 10:24AM by Amanda Hawkins.

Hi all,

Fantastic favs, thanks for shearing.

Amanda, when I look at the picture of the bournonite, on the right side, it seems that there are some tetrahedral crystals and they seem coated with chalcopyrite. If that's the case, then only the Herodsfoot is the locality. If not, the only possible locality, IMHO, would be Wheal Boys. All the other mine gave, to my knowledge, only poor and small flecks and patches.
Otherwise, try to see what the associated minerals are. Allways ready to help.

I hope this helps.

Take care and best regards.

Paul.

Hi Paul

Thanks so much! Yes, it does look like there are some Tetrahedrite crystals on the right. I shall take a closer look when i unpack it. We are all packed up ready to move back down to Cornwall, so can't access it right now. I'm sure it's from the Herodsfoot Mine

Amanda

Amanda What is the other mineral with the Bournonite, is it Barite? i'm not quite sure.
Good luck living in Cornwall.

Matteo, that is a radiant rutile!

Tonight on deck is a somewhat etched peachy morganite.

Beryl var Morganite
Konar Province, Afghanistan
main crystal approximately 3.0cm x 2.0cm

Philip Perkins Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Amanda What is the other mineral with the
> Bournonite, is it Barite? i'm not quite sure.
> Good luck living in Cornwall.

Thanks Philip! My photo label says Quartz, but I need to check that is accurate with my expert, will get back to you on that one.

Amanda