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During the past several years, the center of mineral activity in Tucson has shifted north to the Mineral City area. Various satellite shows and tents surround the area, with perhaps the biggest being the La Fuente Show. The full name is the La Fuente de Piedras Mineral Show, and it is located in the vicinity of a well-known Mexican restaurant of the same name across the street from Mineral City. The restaurant is no longer operating, but its iconic pink building is very recognizable and has become the home of Jewel Tunnel Imports, a large dealership founded by the late mineral icon Rock Currier (yes, that was his real name.)

Adjacent to the former La Fuente restaurant is a large tent with several additional prominent dealers, including the Arkenstone, John Cornish Minerals, and Mineral Classics. I arrived here later in the day, and didn't make it to the actual La Fuente building due to a lack of time. I only was able to attend the large tent adjacent to the former restaurant. However, I still was able capture some great mineral photos from the tent to document for this report.

One of the most significant changes at the Tucson mineral scene in 2022 was the addition of the Tucson Fine Mineral Gallery. This new venue is a building adjacent to the Hotel Tucson, where the large InnSuites show was held up until recently. It housed some fine exhibit minerals from the Gail and Jim Spann collection, as well as some of the finest wire Silver and Silver crystals from the Spann Meieran collections. On display as well was a set of giant Amethyst geodes in the main entrance hallway.

The concept of this new venue is to provide a year-round location for several prominent dealers to maintain and display their inventory, and have a solid home for the yearly show. The dealers present at this facility include Crystal Classics, Collector's Edge, Graeber & Himes, Nicholas Stolowitz Fine Minerals, and The Focal Crystal. Also present are Dreher Carvings from Idar-Oberstein in Germany, MCP (Mineralogical Collection Professionals), and BlueCap Productions. The building also features an outdoor courtyard with a relaxed setting.

Below are some highlight pictures of the event. Stay tuned for additional pictures from individual dealer minerals at the Tucson Fine Mineral Gallery!

One of the featured dealers at the Tucson Fine Mineral Gallery is Collector's Edge. Collector's Edge is a prominent mineral dealer that featured the most eye-catching booth at past events of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®. Their move away from that venue to the exclusive Tucson Fine Mineral Gallery was a big change in the 2022 Tucson atmosphere. They had a large room with some very memorable displays, as was expected of them.

Of particular interest was several fine examples of rare Paraiba Tourmaline - blue Tourmaline colored by copper inclusions - from an old stash that had resurfaced. They also had Imperial-type Topaz from a new location at the Solwezi District, North-western Province, Zambia. (Historically this habit of Topaz was only found in Brazil.) Another new interesting mineral they featured was deep blue Aragonite from Helmand Province, Afghanistan, as well some newly mined Rhodochrosite from their mining operation at the Detroit City Portal, Sweet Home Mine, Alma, Colorado.

With the demise of the InnSuites show at the Hotel Tucson, the majority of mineral dealers in Tucson moved farther north to the Mineral City show. This is the newest and fastest growing area of mineral activity in Tucson. This relatively new show presents a more practical solution for dealers to rent their room for long term, and to use them for storage. This also allows a better system for shipping as well as for not having to deal with beds and furniture in the way, as the dealers did at the hotel shows.

There was much growth at the Mineral City show this year, with several new buildings and more satellite tents. The show had a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere where I was able to chat one on one with many of the dealers.

Here are some highlight minerals I noted at this year's Mineral City show.