The holy grails of mineralogy...

I know we have had very similar/the same topic before, but I’m reorganizing my cabinets, and do have some dreams of what I could fill them with, but getting some other opinions as well would be fun. So I've tried to make a list of the most ”hairy” dreams for my cabinet if I only had space for 10 samples. It was to difficult so I dubled it, so let’s go for two cabinets, one worldwide and one with a more local (national) focus… After all it’s Christmas

The national list:

Silver - Kongsberg
Anatase - Hardangervidda
Zircon – Seiland
Phenakite – Tangen
Calcite – Kjørholt
Amethyst – Stange
Barite – Bamble
Vesuvianite – Drammen
Leucophanite - Langesundsfjorden
Ilmenite – Kragerø/Froland

The international list (of course the Kongsberg silver would have to be on this one too...)

Gold – California/Romania
Azurite – Tsumeb
Liriconite – Cornwall
Fluorite – Weardale
Beryl (/Emerald or Aquamarine) – Brazil/Columbia/(…)
Tourmaline (/Elbaite) – Brazil/(…)
Wulfenite – Arizona
Stibnite – Romania/Japan
Rhodochrosite – Sweet Home Mine
Silver - Kongsberg


Not realy sure this two would end up to be my lists, so give me some input on what would be your lists!

Regards
Peter

Ha! Peter, you just want an excuse to keep two Kongsberg silvers

There is always an excuse to keep all the Kongsberg silvers

Oh what a great idea. I love lists like this. It might take some thinking. Let's see what I can do. Of course any list like this is going to be swayed by personal preferences and experiences.

National List:
Copper - a Michigan copper. Which location, I am not sure. Sure would be nice to have one of those Laker Pocket specimens, or one of the C&H mines. I am a Michigan man, and this has to be at the top of my list.
Rhodochrosite - Sweet Home specimen, of course
Wulfenite - a Red Cloud wulfenite
Calcite/Sphalerite - an Elmwood specimen
Fluorite - from the Cave-in-Rock area
Chalcocite - Flambeau Mine - I really like these, a personal favorite.
Covellite - Butte area, Leonard Mine perhaps
Tourmaline - Somewhere in the Cali pegmatite area, so many good choices. I am not a huge tourmaline nut, but it just seems like it should be there.
Pyromorphite - a Bunker Hill specimen
Caledonite - Mammoth St. Anthony, another personal favorite, or perhaps
Benitoite - California

International List:
Silver - Kongsberg, of course. Just beautiful.
Crocoite - Australian. Adelaide perhaps.
Fluorite - Weardale, Rogerly most likely.
Tanzanite - Merelani (always wanted one of these, maybe someday).
Proustite - Schneeberg, another one that will probably always be out of reach
Azurite - Tsumeb
Liroconite - Cornwall
Cuprite - Katanga
Lazulite - Yukon
Hematite - Not sure where, most likely Italian.

Of course, given a few minutes to think about it, I would probably change this list quite a bit. Still, it is fun to get thinking.

ok, what comes into my mind ....

National Austrian List:
1) wulfenite Bleiberg of course
2) Alpine Austrian gold (Mühlbach, Radhausberg, Rauris, ...)
3) a good flos ferri from the Styrian Erzberg
4) any good Alpine paragenesis
5) strontianite from Oberdorf
6) rarities from our volcanoes (Klöch, Gleichenberg, Pauliberg, Weitendorf, ...)
7) fluorites (Weißeck, ...)
8) rarities from our phosphate pegmatites (Laggerhof, Hahnenkofel, ...)
9) fahlore secundaries from Schwaz/Brixlegg
10) specimen from our former k.u.k. monarchy

International List:
out of my knowledge and interest

The thread might be better titled the holy grails of mineral collectors rather than mineralogy.

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.

Holy Grails of British Mineral Collectors

1. Matlockite from Matlock, Derbyshire
2. Greenockite from Bishopton, Scotland
3. Connellite from Gwennap, Cornwall
4. Blue fluorite from Wheal Gorland, Cornwall
5. Siderite box epimorph from Virtuous Lady Mine, Devon
6. Liroconite WITH Clinoclase, Wheal Gorland, Cornwall
7. Linarite, Caldbeck Fells, Cumbria OR Leadhills, Scotland
8. Apatite with Schorl, Bovey Tracy, Devon
9. Pyrrhotite, Cambokeels Mine, Co. Durham
10. Crystalline Gold, Hope's Nose, Devon

Good Taste everyone!

Here is my personal dream list:


National:
1. Gold on Uraninite - Mühlbach, Hochkönig, Salzburg (What a paragenesis!)
2. Titanite - Schwemmhoislbruch, Deutschlandsberg, Styria (One of the nearly forgotten find with up to 18 cm!)
3. Emerald - Habach Valley, Salzburg (Of course!)
4. Herderite - Luftenberg, Upper Austria (Europes best: 5 cm!)
5. Gold Tellurides - Old K.&K. Monarchy, Transsylvania, Romania (I'm simply fascinated!)
6. Blue Aragonite Flos Feri - Radmer, Styria (Long forgotten, but better than Erzberg!)
7. Epidote - Knappenwand, Untersulzbach Valley, Salzburg (Still world's best!)
8. Cinnabarite - Erzberg, Eisenerz, Styria (forget the Chinese beauties...)
9. Wulfenite - Bleiberg, Carinthia (You have never seen the really best in the internet!!!)
10. Amethyst with Aquamarine - Mörchnerkar, Ziller Valley, Tyrol (I've seen only one perfect specimen up to now!!


International:
1. Phosphophyllite twins - Potosi, Bolivia (No words for it...!)
2. Sperrylite - Urals, Russia (I know - ugly black...!)
3. A large Diamond in Kimberlite - RSA (I have sleepless nights...)
4. Proustite - Chanarcillo, Chile (The really red fireworks!)
5. Azurite - Tsumeb, Namibia (one of the electric blue large xls!)
6. Rhodochrosite - Sweet Home Mine, Colorado, USA (My cousin lives nearby - but he never brought one for me as a gift!)
7. Gold - Santa Elena, Venezuela (What perfection!)
8. Silver - Freiberg, Saxony, Germany (Why always Kongsberg?)
9. Emerald on Pyrite - Muzo, Columbia (Something glittering for X-mas)
10. The large Jonas "Rocket" Tourmaline (Ok - I'm a dreamer....)


11. All the things i have forgotten to list here but what will occure in my wildest dreams.....

Great Topic!

US list:

A great Copper in Calcite from Michigan
Something even close to the Carnegie Hemimorphite after Calcite from Missouri
A superb Green Monster mine Epidote with Japan law quartz twin
A choice purple fluorapatite from Maine
A jewel Elmwood calcite on fluorite
A Sweet Home rhodo with fluorite
A well-crystallized Tiger caledonite
A large zoned blue/golden fluorite from Illinois
A well-crystallized Michigan copper/silver halfbreed
A choice baryte on manganite from Michigan's Lucy mine
A large matching pair polished Utah variscite with eyes, etc.
A large Ray mine spinel law copper

and International:

A large and choice Ilfeld manganite
A gemmy Chanarcillo proustite
A choice Herodsfoot bournonite
A huge reticulated Tsumeb cerussite snowflake
One of the best Mogul mine, Ireland galenas
A huge Japanese stibnite
A great Tsumeb azurite
A huge San Pedro Corralitos mimetite of the finest color
A large, terminated Ojuela mine legrandite
A large English kidney ore hematite with the red quartz on backside
A gnarled Kongsberg silver
A monster Russian platinum nugget

Tough to narrow it down and I'm sure that I could make changes with more time and thought. I hate to leave out so many great specimens and localities. Purely for aesthetics and rarity, I'd love the Carnegie hemi after calcite above all others.

Boy I don't know Jolyon,
A killer Linarite from Grand Reef sounds more exciting :P


great lists guys!!
E

1. Samsonite, St. Andreasberg
2. Jalpaite , Zacatecas
3. Moschellandsbergite, Obermoschel
4. Proustite, Schneeberg
5. Freieslebenite, Hiendelaencina
6. Antimony, Lake George
7. Hauchecornite, Friedrich
8. Wittichenite, Cattle Gride
9. Canfieldite, Colquechaca
10. Sternbergite, Jachymov

Well, clearly left out some great ones, and clearly I like elements, sulfides and sulfosalts...

Holy grails from Cornwall, UK:

(arranged more-or-less according to my personal ranking, starting with most coveted )

1. Spangolite, Wheal Gorland
2. Stephanite, Wheal Ludcott
3. Native silver, Wheal Ludcott
4. Almandine, Botallack
5. Large deep-blue fluorite xl, Wheal Mary Ann
6. Liroconite, Wheal Gorland
7. Large clinoclase "acorn" cluster, Wheal Gorland
8. Large bournonite "cogwheel" twin, Herodsfoot Mine
9. Zoned siderite xls from the famous ca. 1820 find at Wheal Maudlin
10. Complex purple fluorite xls, Trevaunance Mine

Can't really say I'd have a "list" of minerals as I'm not a huge collector, but if I had to pick my Holy Grail specimen, it would be one of the copper fans made by the miners on the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan in the 1800's. I had an opportunity to obtain one of these several years ago when I was an undergrad in college but had to make the choice between specimen or school; obviously you can see what I chose!!

Maybe I'll see about a Kongsberg silver while I'm in Norway next summer....



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/27/2011 12:28AM by Paul Brandes.

Great lists everyone! I'm so happy that I have space for more than 10 and also 20 samples in my new cabinets, but there is a limit, but the bigest limit now is the amount of money I can spend...

But just to take you serious Rock, here's a suggestion of a list for holy grails of mineralogy;

Agricolaite, Georgius Agricola
Berzeliite, Jöns Jakob Berzelius
Bröggerite (Th rich uraninite), W .C. Brøgger.
Danalite, James Dwight Dana
Ernienickelite, Ernest (Ernie) H. Nickel
Gadolinite, J. Gadolin
Frankhawthorneite, Frank C. Hawthorne
Poughite, Frederick Harvey Pough
Strunzite, Hugo Strunz
Ralphite - to come?, J. Ralph



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/30/2011 11:52PM by Peter Andresen.

With all due respect to previous posters, this thread is twisting the meaning of "holy grail", which does not merely mean "highly desirable". The "holy grail" really signifies a mythical object that no one is ever going to find. So, in that spirit, here are my suggestions for some mineralogical "holy grails":

Siderazot - Something like the catholic "fragments of the true cross" - every systematik species collector thinks they have a piece, but none of them have any evidence for its existence. There are some other "species" in this category too.

Native Iodine - Allegedly found once on Vesuvius, but probably just as mythical as siderazot. (But at least we don't all claim to have a piece :) )

Native Platinum - Like siderazot, every collector thinks they have a piece. Unlike siderazot, there is actually evidence for its existence. Mindat Manager Pavel Kartashov has some, but the rest of mortal collectors only have it as a name on a label, not the actual holy substance itself.

Native Rhodium - Yes, it exists, but you're never going to get any. Ditto for Jahnsite-CaFeFe and a fairly long list of other one-specimen species. Oh well, there's always a chance some big deposit will be found somewhere some day...

Diaoyudaoite - Very well known as a widespread industrial waste product, but as a natural "mineral"? ...as mythical as the Holy Grail.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 12/27/2011 03:52AM by Alfredo Petrov.

Alfredo, some good points. What do you think all the platinum images represent ( isoferroplatinum?), and should the platinum page come with a warning?

Regards,
Ralph

What an interesting compilation of favorites. It’s notable that most are common species and readily found in cabinet-sized specimens. Those classics were what got me started in mineralogy. What gets my juices going these days are those undamaged, Wilbur-free, pristine tiny specimens and associations that exist only under the microscope.

Paul Desautels said something to the effect that there are only around 200 species worth collecting. I think he was talking about big rocks. Even though he curated glorious collections of museum quality minerals, he was a micromounter at heart because he knew that's where the beauty lies.

What about having three lists? Micros, thumbnails and cabinet-sized specimens? Just being contrarian.

OK, sitting on the tip of Africa, these would be my ten "must have's" for our region:

1. Gold specimen - Witwatersrand gold mines (even though its illegal to possess unworked gold in South Africa!)
2. Quartz with papagoite - Messina (one of the old specimens from the 1950s, not the recent material)
3. Cuprite - Onganja mine, Namibia (source of the largest cuprites known)
4. Alamosite - Tsumeb mine (just because they'r so rare)
5. Rhodochrosite - Kalahari manganese field
6. Bornite crystal - Mangula, Zimbabwe
7. Elbaite - Muiane mine, Mozambique (preferably 1metre long and red-gem!)
8. Diamond in kimberlite - any SA diamond mine (again, even though its illegal to won uncut diamonds in SA)
9. Azurite - Tsumeb mine
10. Topaz - St Anne's mine, Zimbabwe. (or maybe the heliodor from the Green Walking Stick mine, Zimbabwe)

Bruce Cairncross

Thanks to Santa klaus for the quick delivery of all your dream list two days ago....

Alfredo Petrov Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> With all due respect to previous posters, this
> thread is twisting the meaning of "holy grail",
> which does not merely mean "highly desirable". The
> "holy grail" really signifies a mythical object
> that no one is ever going to find.

Not true Alfredo; Indiana Jones found the Holy Grail, he just couldn't keep it!!

While the Grail is a mythical object to most people, in this case I don't believe it's because no one will ever find it (a world-class specimen), but because no one can afford to purchase it once they do, which will always make certain specimens "Holy Grails" to collectors.

Maybe this thread should be renamed the "must have's" as Bruce called them, or perhaps "Dream Specimens" would fit better??



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/27/2011 04:12PM by Paul Brandes.