The holy grails of mineralogy...

I think Alfredo Petrow met the point at best. Every collector has his own and special dream list. The content of this list depends on the kind of collection. A "holy grail" is of course a dream, too but without a chance to fullfill - either? However, such a holy grail dream changes also from collector to collector. For example: Emerald is one of the few minerals which have not been found in Saxony. As a local collector for me that will be a holy grail-mineral. If anybody of the local collectors would discover such a Saxony emerald he would be the king. For collectors of Brazil, Norway or Austria emeralds are common minerals and far away of beeing a holy grail.

Independend of that such special and individual dream lists are interesting to read.

Uwe Ludwig

Going back to the "holy grails of mineralogy" theme, I would suggest:

1. Portable and accurate hand-held mineral identification device (raman/xray/magic)

2. Finding the type locality (and more crystals of) Jeremejevite

3. Natural perfluoroammonium heptafluoroxenon

4. Native Potassium

5. Finding another, larger, pod of gold and weird Pb-Sb-Pd minerals near Hope's Nose in Devon

6. Coming up with a sensible classification system for the Tourmaline group.

7. Properly describing Varlamoffite (AKA tin rust)

8. Properly describing Chrysocolla (I suspect it's much like opal, with various subtypes - some cryptocrystalline and some amorphous)

9. Crystalline Neutronium (micro-micromount!)

10. Mindat.org completed

This is my dream list

Nchwaningite - N'Chwaning II
Poldervaartite - Wessels
Rhodochrosite - N'Chwaning I
Ginite - Sandamab
Gold - Witwatersrand
Söhngeite - Tsumeb
Joosteite - Helikon II
Schaureite - Tsumeb
Beryl - Aqua & Morganite (Mrs Jooste's)

Rowan, would you add chalcocite from Bristol or ball muscovite from Branchville?

My 10 list (That I would like to field collect)
1:- Cabinet specimen of Lanarkite from the Susanna Mine
2:- Caledonite
3:- Leadhillite
4:- Susannite
5:- Anglesite
6:- Witherite on matrix from Glencriff Mine
7:- Complex Galena crystals on matrix from Glencriff Mine
8:- Vanadinite from the Belton Grain Vein
9:- Confirmed example of Macphersonite
10:- 007 licence to dig any where in the UK

Peter,
Hawthorneite is not named after Frank Hawthorne, it is named after a less towering figure in the Earth Sciences, John Barry Hawthorne. In fact I believe he was a geologist.
Laszlo

Thanks for the correction Laszlo, have edited the post, now only with Frankhawthorneite.

And thanks for all the other lists, turns and twists to this topic!

I love the idea of a TN collection framed like a painting, Ken, and there is a dream that is easier to reach too, I think.

Doing discoveries are a good thought too... But Jolyon, not finding "mindatite", or is that the name the natural perfluoroammonium heptafluoroxenon should be?

Steve, your 10th point made me think about,what if it was possible to empty the Kongsberg silver mine "Kongens gruve" for water, to dig there for a moth or two... sigh... that would be fun!

Aside from Ivigtut stuff, I wouldn't mind this.



I wouldn't mind a large tourmaline specimen either right now.

You can find your "holy grail" minerals! In my late teens I wanted 3 impossible minerals-Paramalaconite, Seamanite and Warwickite. Paramalaconite was only from Bisbee approximately 120 years ago, Seamanite from the Chicagoan Iron Mine in Michigan found in 1926, Warwick from near Warwick, New York, locality had been lost.
A friend found a few Paramalaconite crystal groups from Michigan, mailed me two. While I was a grad student at the U. of Michigan, my thesis adviser gave me a Seamanite from the U. of Michigan's collection in payment for spending many hours working for free for the Mineralogy department. Paul Moore rediscovered the Warwickite locality, and I collected a flat of the stuff with him.
Don't let your dreams die-they can happen!
Dave Garske

Peter:
I'm considering using a shot glass display case and installing LEDs. Right now it won't have all of my dreams, but as close as I can get on a working man's budget.

Steve Rust Wrote:
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> My 10 list (That I would like to field collect)
> 1:- Cabinet specimen of Lanarkite from the Susanna
> Mine
> 2:- Caledonite
>
> 3:- Leadhillite
>
> 4:- Susannite
>
> 5:- Anglesite
>
> 6:- Witherite
> on matrix from Glencriff Mine
> 7:- Complex
> Galena crystals on matrix from Glencriff Mine
> 8:- Vanadinite
> from the Belton Grain Vein
> 9:- Confirmed
> example of Macphersonite
> 10:- 007 licence
> to dig any where in the UK


Like it, Steve!

Grails from Wales:

1) (interchangeably with 2 and 3) Brookite from Prenteg
2) Finding a millerite-bearing claystone with crystals to 5cm that is actually collectable....
3) Finding anglesite crystals at Parys Mountain minus post-mining corrosion!
4) Ramsbeckite from Penrhiw in central Wales. That was damn good. I reckon it was my best find in the area.
5) A better Bwlchglas pyromorphite than those I have.... on the lookout!
6) Gold with bismuth tellurides from Clogau - these can be very fine on occasion but not in my cabinet....
7) Synchysite from the Ffestiniog slate quarries - in terms of effort versus results a good one has to score somewhere.
8) Calcite from Ton Mawr Quarry - found one late in 2010 that cheered me up no end!
9) Almost anything from Dolyhir Quarry - it never stops chucking out surprises.
10) Reopening Llechweddhelyg mine for specimens!

Cheers - John

Trevor Dart Wrote:
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>
> I'm interested to see what Steve Sorrell's Australian list is like...

Been thinking about this for a while and there's probably only one that I would really like to get and that's number one on the list. In fact, it's the only achievable one on the list!

1. Nicely-terminated blue elbaite from Kangaroo Island, South Australia.
2. A verified phoenicochroite from Dundas, Tasmania.
3. Hellyerite specimens that I could send to anyone around the world and they would remain as hellyerite.
4. An ikaite specimen before it becomes a glendonite.
5. Pyromorphite pseudomorph of a spray of 10cm long prismatic crocoite crystals (see below!).
6. The choice of one, and only one, specimen from the British Museum of Natural History (I think it might be a liroconite).
7. A 1kg stony meteorite landing in my backyard that ends up having three minerals new to science in it, and they are all visible crystals.
8. A 100-piece snowflake collection that stays intact for a few hundred years.
9. A change in the laws of physics so that I could have camera that can take micro photos with a 2cm depth of field.
10. A body that can allow me to go back on field trips and actively collect. I miss being able to go out and hammer rocks.



Regards
Steve

Steve
I'd settle for that Crocoite BEFORE it turned to Pyromorphite.
Your item 4 really does qualify as a Holy Grail (.. or simply watching it become an opal pineapple!! )
Re item 6, I think I'd grab the BHill Boleite they have or one of their Bournonites.
It's so cold down where you are I thought you'd have a collection of those snowflakes already !!
Cheers and Happy New Year
Keith

Jenna, I give up , what is it? (Looks like decorative ice cubes!)

Regards,
Ralph

Hi Ralph, Jenna shows calcite with pyrite stars. In germany we name it "Mercedes-Calzit".

Happy New Year to all.

Uwe Ludwig

Donald Peck Wrote:
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> Rowan, would you add chalcocite from Bristol or
> ball muscovite from Branchville?

Oh crap, considering the state's position for "worst state for rockhounds" (about 5th), the list would be pretty long....
I have an Idea! how about anything from any long lost CT locality?
And a new find in CT on accessible land soon.

-Rowan Lytle

son: -picks up huge loose amethyst cluster- "Is this what we're looking for?"
father: "Holy #$@%!

United States, New England area

Add chalcocite crystals from Bristol Copper Mine, Bristol, Connecticut
Samarskite-(Y), terminated crystals in matrix , Spinelli Quarry, Glastonbury, CT. I have not seen better from any locality in the world, I would love to see photographs of terminated crystals in matrix from other localities to compare to these.
Uraninite crystals, Treblicock Locality, Topsham, Maine, best luster I have seen in uraninite.

Another Holy Grail for the Broken Hill area

Re-locate and re-open the "Great Vugh Mine" description as follows from Dickinson's report of 1939.

"The Great Vugh mine is located 2,1/2 miles north of Thackaringa. Somewhere about 1890 prospectors shaft-sinking under a gossan outcrop broke through into a large cavern at a depth of 65 feet. This vugh was 500 feet long, 10 to 30 feet wide and from 6 to 12 feet high, and contained stalactites of limonite and gypsum. According to J. B. Jaquet (1894, p.114) the entry of outside air resulted in a partial collapse of the walls of the opening."

The dept of mines have it marked as one location, while Dickinson and the historical records put it somewhere else. As far as I know, it is still out there, but no-body is exactly sure where...

My search for the Holy Grail continues...

Thanks Uwe, very nice, happy New year!

Regards,
Ralph

Martin Rich! I have no idea what you are talking about! CaCO3 ???????

James, what about the first and second best silvers in "the black hole" collection ;)

The Harvard Ground Hog Mine is my taste of Au

The Ag Twin and my favorite wire is exhibited in the Norwegian Mining Museum

and yes the great Phosphophyllite of course

Houston has a sweet Kombat Mine Cerussite

My dream Rhodo has yet to be found at the N´Chwaning mine. It is a plate with deep red gemmy scalenoedrons to 7 cm upon which sits a butterfly twin 10 cm wide :)

And yet to be found a 15 cm cluster of 2-3 cm thick DT Jeremejevite, deep blue, flawless upon which rest a few deep yellow flawless Rhodizites!

A simple flawless 100 ct C octahedron from Oudachnaya, Mirni or other place in Yakutsk in matrix is ok although a deep pink 10 ct in matrix from down under would do even better!

My personal dream find was a golden calcite specimen with emerald green fluorite octahedrons from the Malmberget Mine. One tiny pocket had the two in combination but no real specimen, just crud, broken bits and pieces :(

If to throw in a black mineral I would be satisfied with a 2 cm DT complex Långbanite on Rhodonite crystals from Långban.

and a 4.5 cm razor sharp Pt cube (yes pure Pt) interpenetration twin from Russkij would be welcome in matrix