The Evje and Iveland pegmatite district in the south of Norway remains one of the classic areas for a number of REE-containing species like aeschynite, euxenite, ferdusonite, polycrase, tombarthite, samarskite, monazite, davidite, gadolinite, xenotime etc.

Iveland is the typelocality of thortveitite and specimens from the area are still considered to be the best ever found.

In addition many fine, esthetic samples of minerals like beryl, quartz, garnet, fluorite, apatite, pyrite, titanite, columbite, chrysoberyl, ilmenorutile and many others have been found here.

There are three mineral museums/displays in the district, but here I want to focus on the Evje og Hornnes geomuseum at Fennefoss.

This museum was founded in 1975 as a folkloristic museum, but soon the minerals took over. Nowadays it is still a combination of both types of museum, though the folkloristic displays are poorly maintained.

In recent years some of the geological displays have been worked over, and it is to be hoped that all the displays will be upgraded the coming years.

Even though many good-looking mineral specimens have been found in the Evje-Iveland area, the collection has a much greater educational potential. The work done on the displays so far has been focussing on trying to explain the significance of certain minerals or groups of minerals.

So far thematical displays have been made about the REE-containing minerals, quartz, mica, beryl/beryllium and nickel.

Displays on feldspar, thortveitite/scandium, gemstones and the geology of the south of Norway are under preparation.

A special display on Pierre and Marie Curie shows an electroscope the Curie's donated to a norwegian physicist who send them radioactive samples from Norway for their studies.

In addition there is a systematical display, showing norwegian minerals only, arranged after their chemical composition.

The Kristen Dale collection is yet another division and is a geographical collection with all the specimens grouped according to the province where they were found.

Displays on the Flåt nickelmine, Theodor Gautestad, Odd S.H. Hansen complement the geological displays, but need further development.