Best Minerals Gypsum - Welcome

In this forum we hope to create articles with pictures about all the good specimens of gypsum from all the good gypsum localities. You are welcomed and encouraged to help create content for this and all the Best Mineral forums. You are encouraged to use the approximate format that has already been developed and exampled in the more extensively developed examples in the Best A Minerals forum. If you would like to take a crack at creating content for a particular gypsum locality(s), please read over the suggestions and example in the sticky message at the top of the A minerals forum and then add it to this thread entry and I will work with you and walk you through any problems you may encounter. Ill also create a thread entry for the mineral you want to work on and help get you started. You will not be able to create new threads in this forum, unless you are approved as a moderator of the Best Minerals forum. If you have something you think is worth adding to the thread about a particular mineral, just make a thread entry about it, and Ill add it into the thread for that particular entry or at leas ask you for more information about it. There is a huge amount of work to do, so lets get started.

Ideally what we want to know about each significant mineral from each locality is:

1. What is the largest crystal of the mineral that the locality has produced?
2. What do the best specimens from this locality look like and where can one be seen?
3. Does the locality produce a variety of different kinds of specimens of this species, and what do the best of each type look like and how many of them were found etc.
4. What are the associated minerals found with this species and what is its geological setting?
5. How abundant are these specimens and when were they found? A type locality? In other words, how rare are they.
6. How do they compare to other specimens of the same mineral from other localities?
7. How much is it worth. This should probably be optional, but in cases where specimens are worth thousands of dollars we should probably say something of the value of these things.
8. What kind of care and feeding do these specimens require? Are they delicate, radioactive, unstable, color changeable etc.?
9. Are the specimens commonly faked, and if so, how to tell if they are?
10. Are there any interesting stories relating to the collecting of these specimens or their discovery as a new mineral?

Of course this is in reality impractical, but if we keep these questions in mind, we will do a lot better job when writing about them.

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/19/2009 05:15PM by Rock Currier.

Hi Rock,

I would be happy to contribute to the gypsum thread with several localities, notably, the Boldut Mine in Cavnic, Romania; Salinas Paracas, Ica Dept. Peru; Marlow, Oklahoma; and Great Salt Plains, Oklahoma. The attached picture is an example of a gypsum specimen from Marlow, in Stephens County, Oklahoma that used to be relatively common. Locally, they were known as rabbit-ears selenite. The location, which was just west of Marlow in the bank of Little Beaver Creek is now extinct, and specimens such as this are seldom seen nowadays.

If you would like me to contribute additional specimens/locations give me a shout.

Michael Shaw



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/16/2009 05:59PM by Michael Shaw.

Michael, We would be delighted to have your contributions. Can you also write something about each locality for which you have pictures? Which localities would you like to write about? Ill create threads for them so you can get started.

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/17/2009 02:23AM by Rock Currier.

Probably should mention the huge gypsum deposits in the Paris basin ("plaster of Paris"). Some fine crystals continue to be found around Paris. Parts of the city are underlain by underground gypsum mines (largely abandoned I believe). This 16-centimeter twinned crystal was dug up in the Montmarte District during installation of an underground electric cable in about 1997. A higher resolution image is posted on Mindat at [http://www.mindat.org/photo-236492.html].





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/17/2009 02:35AM by Kelly Nash.

Hi Kelly,

Just a little clarification. Is the Little Beaver Creek site extant or extinct?

Rock,
I would be happy to provide specimen photos and text about the following locations if you would like to create the threads.

1) Marlow, Stephens County, Oklahoma
2) Salt Plains Lake, near Jet, Alfalfa County, Oklahoma
3) Salinas Paracas, Ica Department, Peru
4) Boldut Mine, Cavnic, Maramures, Romania

One of our Canadian members should be able to develop Red River Floodway, Winnipeg, Manitoba. If not I can do a little research and handle this site as well.

Karl, thanks for catching my error. The gypsum locality on Little Beaver Creek is no longer there, thus extinct, not extant.

Michael Shaw

Michael,
I have created threads for the countries of USA, Peru, France and Romania. You can now post a response to those threads with your stuff in them and when it looks good enough we will transfer the whole thing to the that gypsum article.

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.

Michael, I'll take a shot at improving my post on the thread on gypsum from France, since I brought it up.

I have to say, I am impressed with Rock's persistence on this project, it seems awfully overwhelming to me.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/17/2009 09:23PM by Kelly Nash.

I feel like an ant crawling around on an elephant.

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.

"One of our Canadian members should be able to develop Red River Floodway, Winnipeg, Manitoba. If not I can do a little research and handle this site as well. "

Michael I'm glad you noted this location. It is MAJOR in Canada. Also the Willow Creek selenite from Nanton, Alberta is superb. I may be able to supply a few images of specimens from each location.

Bill, feel free to jump in and see what you can do with Canadian Gypsum.

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.