Minerals.net

Every year the University of Arizona Mineral Museum puts together a special mineral exhibit with a particular theme. This year, the theme was "The Best of the Best: Prize Minerals from the Vaults of Arizona's Collectors". Arizona has one the country's highest percentages of mineral collectors, including those with outstanding collections. This special exhibit focused on culling some of the top-notch specimens from local Arizona collectors and publicly displaying them. Many of these were already seen in the May-June supplement to the Mineralogical Record titled "Mineral Collections in Arizona".

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Wall Showing a Bio of the Contributors to this Exhibit

The Special Exhibit Room

Exceptionally Large Scheelite Crystal from the Rogers Mine, Cochise Co., Arizona
Flagg Mineral Foundation Collection

Beautiful Plate of Vanadinite from the Apache Mine, near Globe, Arizona
This Crystal Plate Rivals the Vanadanites from Mibladen.
Arthur L. Flagg Collection

Azurite Balls and Malachite from Bisbee, Arizona
Flagg Mineral Foundation Collection

Very Large Plate of Azurite on Malachite from Bisbee, Arizona
Mineralogical Society of Arizona Collection

Wulfenite with Mimetite from the Ojuela Mine, Mapimi, Mexico
Jim and Imelda Klein Collection

Very Rare, Deep Blue Scorodite from the Ojuela Mine, Mapimi, Mexico
Jim and Imelda Klein Collection

Set of 5 Wulfenite crystals from the Old Yuma Mine, Pima Co., Arizona
John and Karen Cesar Collection

Large Azurite Crystal on Malachite & Goethite from the Gardner Mine, Bisbee, Arizona
Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum Collection

Several World-Class Arizona Minerals. (Click to Enlarge and Read Labels)
Evan Jones Collection

Pyrite on Fluorite in a Glittering Formation
De'an Mine, Wushan, China
Karen R. Hruby Collection

Blocky Orange Wulfenite Crystals from the Ahumada Mine, Sierra de Los Lamentos, Mexico
Stan Esbenshade Collection

An Exceptional acicular Legrandite from the Ojuela Mine, Mapimi, Mexico
Paula Presmyk Collection

World-Class Thumbnail Minerals, with the iconic Rhodonite in the Center
Alex Schauss Collection

Rhodochrosite from the Uchucchacua Mine, Peru
John C. Lucking Collection

One of the prominent features of Tucson is Sentinel Peak, a small mountain right outside of downtown Tucson that offers sweeping views of the city. There is a road that climbs up the mountain to the viewpoint, where you can see the entire city including most of the show areas. I made the five minute drive up to take some pictures of the scenes down below with my zoom lens.

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View from Sentinel Peak Looking East, with the I-10 Motel Shows
and the Giant 22nd Street Show Tent Across the I-10 Freeway

Zoomed into the Howard Johnson and 22nd Street Show

The Tucson Convention Center, Where the Main Show is Held

Downtown Tucson and the University of Arizona. Facing Northeast.
The GJX Tent and the Pueblo Show at the Riverside Inn are in view.

Sagauro Overlooking Tucson. Facing East.

InnSuites Hotel (Hotel Tucson), Where the InnSuites Show is Held

This blog post continues with the individual minerals I photographed from the public exhibits at the Tucson Convention Center.

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Beautiful Moonstone (Rough and Faceted) from Kyauk-poke/Sakan-gyi, Mogok, Burma
From the Mogok Showcase of the American Museum of Natural History

Huge Kunzite from Pala, California. This is the Largest Kunzite I have seen from CA
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

Euclase from the Mount Brussilof Mine, British Columbia, Canada.
This is the only Canadian occurence for this rare mineral.

Smoky Quartz in the Shape of a Fish, with an Eye Added for Effect
From Aracuai, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Orpiment Coating a Calcite Crystal, from the Shimen Mine, China

Giant Crude Corundum (Sapphire) Crystal from Hogback Mountain, North Carolina
Tellus Science Museum Exhibit

Diamond Rough Crystals from the Marange Diamond Field in Zimbabwe, From the Smithsonian Institution.
These were Smuggled Diamonds that the Museum now Acquired for Research.

Diamond Gem-Rough Crystals from the Argyle Mine, Australia, Smithsonian Institution

Black Cubic Diamond Crystal, from South Africa, Smithsonian Institution

Large Carbonado Diamond (739.7 ct) from French Equatorial Africa, Smithsonian Institution

Enormous Smoky Quartz gwindel from Switzerland.

Transparent Yellow Gem Scapolite from Tanzania, Robert Sielcki Collection

Odd-Shaped Diamond Cluster, Robert Sielecki Collection

Beautiful and Intriguing Gold with Holes from Wedderburn, Victoria, Australia
Robert Sielecki Collection

This blog post lists some of the individual minerals I photographed from the public exhibits. Though there were thousands of minerals within the multiple showcases, and most of them were of interest and picture-worthy, the ones I photographed individually stood out to me for some reason or another, either because of their rarity, uniqueness, or interesting habit not commonly seen. I have 28 pictures and will divide them into two posts. There is no specific order here - they are in order of the sequence of when I photographed them.

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Platinum Nugget from Russia. From the Hubert De Monmonier Collection.

Gold from the Eagle's Nest Mine in California. T L Potucek Collection

Very Large Rubellite Tourmaline from the Cryo Genie Mine, California
From the Fallbrook Gem & Mineral Society Case

Analcime on breccia from the Phoenix Mine in Keweenaw Co., Michigan
From the William Severance Collection

Incredible Silver/Copper Halfbreed from the Baltic Lode, Houghton Co., Michigan
A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum (Michican Technical University)

Chlorargyrite, a rare silver-bearing mineral, from Broken Hill, Australia
R. Scott Werschky Collection

Silver from Kongsberg, Norway

Incredible Elongated Aquamarine in Quartz from the Sierrita Mountains, Arizona
From the Mineral Minions of the Tucson Area Showcase

Deep Blue, Backlit Halite Crystal from the Intrepid Mine in New Mexico,
From the Red, White & Blue Showcase

Deep Orange Orpiment in matrix, from the Twin Creeks Mine, Nevada

Bright Orange Orpiment Crystals from the Twin Creeks Mine, Humboldt, Nevada

Rare gemmy Green Microcline from Kyatpyin, Mogok Burma
From the Mogok Showcase of the American Museum of Natural History

Gemmy Orange Danburite from Sakan-gyi, Mogok Burma
From the Mogok Showcase of the American Museum of Natural History

Ruby in matrix from Kyauk-poke, Mogok, Burma
From the Mogok Showcase of the American Museum of Natural History

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Diamond "Fakes" from the Society of Mineral Museum Professionals (SMMP)

"Herkimer Diamonds" from New York State

Replicas of World Famous Diamonds, from the Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art

"Rewards of Digging in Australia"
Display Presented by Penny Williamson & Paul Carr School of Earth & Environmental Sciences

Diamond Exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History

Diamond Mines of Arkansas
Exhibit of Diamonds from the Crater of Diamond State Park, Arkansas

Keith and Mauna Proctor Family Trust Collection.
That Giant Rhodochrosite shows up in the display every year.

Gold, Silver, Diamonds, and Gemstones from the Robert Sielecki Collection

Mineral Specimens from Cripple Creek, Colorado, from the Colorado School of Mines

Silver and Silver Minerals from Arizona, from the Mineral Minions

Minerals of Arizona, from the Mark & Nicole Pecha Collection

Copper Minerals from Bisbee and the Milpillas Mine
From the University of Arizona Mineral Museum

"Rough & Ready" - Treasures from the Collection fo the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

Thumbnail Collection from the Flagg Mineral Foundation
David M. Shannon Memorial Case

Minerals (Mostly Outstanding Pyrite) from Diego Minerals