Minerals.net

Minerals.net May 2016 Newsletter

May 23, 2016 Hershel Friedman (0)

You can now view our May 2016 newsletter online. Please click the image below for the larger version.

Moore’s Compendium of Mineral Discoveries Review

May 20, 2016 Hershel Friedman (0)

I am a subscriber to The Mineralogical Record, and look forward to every volume. I also like the extras that are often included, such as “What’s Hot in Tucson,” “What’s Hot in Munich,” and the Dallas Symposium DVDs. In the 2015 Dallas Symposium DVD, Tom Moore from the Mineralogical Record was one of the speakers, and he introduced a new and exciting project he has been working on for many years. The new project, titled “Moore’s Compendium of Mineral Discoveries," is an exhaustive guide to every documented mineral discovery since 1960 of specimens with crystals over one centimeter.

In Moore’s presentation in the DVD, he describes the multitude of sources that he used for the compendium. Certainly, no mineral locality index this ambitious has been created in modern times. All sources are researched, and details of the mineral occurrence and habits of each location are documented.

At the Tucson show this year, I visited the Mineralogical Record booth at the Convention Center show, and got my first looks at this impressive guide. It contains two volumes, with a combined page count of 1,644 pages. Holding it and flipping through it gave me the incentive to buy it immediately, despite its hefty price tag. I felt that this compendium would be a great resource for researching new minerals that I add to the Minerals.net database. Because there were only 500 volumes printed (with more than half already sold,) and the editor not planning on producing a second edition, I felt it was an opportune time to purchase it.

I had to schlep these extra heavy books in my luggage returning from the Tucson show, in addition to my rocks. I was given a 50 pound limit by the airline for my luggage, and lo and behold my suitcase weighed exactly 50 pounds! However, the extra schlep was well worth it, because aside from the workout I got tugging these in my suitcase, I do use these books all the time now. It is a very worthy investment, and it's important to get these now before they run out and are no longer available.

I do have some criticism, though. I feel that in today’s technological age, such an important piece of work should be available in a digital format that is fully searchable and indexable by locality. Additionally, there could have been a way to include photos in such digital version. One more area of critique is the preference over certain localities and the omission of others. For example, in Northern New Jersey, one would get the impression that Fort Lee was the most significant locality in the area, whereas in reality Paterson and Prospect Park were much more prolific, but don’t receive quite as much attention as Fort Lee.

Despite the above, this book is a major piece of work for the mineral community, and is a very significant addition to mineral study. Despite its price, it is worth every penny, and every significant collector ought to own this guide. The book is currently available for sale at the Mineralogical Record website at:
http://www.mineralogicalrecord.com/bookdetail.asp?id=130

The 2016 NY/NJ Show - Fluorescent Minerals

April 21, 2016 Hershel Friedman (0)

This is our final post on the 2016 NY/NJ Gem & Mineral Show in Edison, New Jersey. The show hosts a phenomenal public exhibit of fluorescent minerals, with hundreds of fluorescent minerals on display. The fluorescent displays are organized by the Franklin Mineral Museum, Sterling Hill Mining Museum, and several private collectors specializing in fluorescent minerals. Most of the minerals in the fluorescent display are from Franklin or Ogdensburg, New Jersey. These localities, which are about 2.5 miles apart from each other, are known collectively as the fluorescent capital of the world due to their abundance or fluorescent minerals.

We are proud to share with you just a sample of the many fluorescent mineral cases and minerals that were at the show. Please click the photos below for larger pop-ups.

Fluorescent Minerals from the Franklin Mineral Museum

Fluorescent Minerals from the Sterling Hill Mining Museum

Fluorescent Calcite and Willemite - Warren Miller Collection

More Fluorescent Minerals Steve Kuitems Collection

Fluorescent Franklin Area Minerals: Steve Kuitems Collection

Barite from Franklin Mineral Museum Collection

Barite from Franklin: Franklin Mineral Museum Collection

Worldwide Fluorescent Minerals: Richard Bostwick & Tema Hecht Collection

Fluorescent Halite from Inowroclaw, Poland: Richard Bostwick & Tema Hecht Collection

The 2016 NY/NJ Show - Dealer Minerals

April 20, 2016 Hershel Friedman (0)

The 2016 NY/NJ Gem & Mineral show had an interesting array of minerals, from new finds to classic pieces. One of the more interesting events that everyone at the show buzzing about was a booth by hikers James Pascale and Jordan Salits, who had huge Quartz crystal clusters for sale from a new find in Ellenville, New York. This classic locality produced large Quartz crystals many years ago, but James and Jordan accidentally stumbled upon a new occurrence of huge crystals while hiking the area.

Another area of interest was Gary Maldovany's table which had an entire section of fabulous, unusual Amity (New York) minerals that he purchased from Glenn Rhein. Other new finds including Amazonite from Madagascar (reminiscent of the Colorado material,) Almandine from North Carolina, and green Quartz included with Chlorite from Upstate New York. Click the pictures below for a larger pop-up.

Green Beryl from Chita City, Russia
Throwin Stones, Rusty James

Polished Rhodochrosite Stalactite from Catamarca, Argentina, with an interesting pattern
Throwin Stones, Rusty James

Giant Apatite, Scapolite, and Titanite from Amity, New York
Just Keep Rockin', Gary Maldovany

Huge Iridescent Goethite from Graves Mountain, Georgia
Ultra-Rocks, Bryan Major

Very Large Amethyst/Smoky Quartz Crystal Plate from Diamond Hill, South Carolina
Ultra-Rocks, Bryan Major

A Two Footer Selenite Crystal from Oklahoma
Ultra-Rocks, Bryan Major

Yellow Quartz Crystals from Diamond Hill, South Carolina

Yellow Quartz Crystals (Color Caused by Iron Oxide Inclusions) from Diamond Hill, South Carolina
Ultra-Rocks, Bryan Major

Aquamarine from the Junk Hole Pegmatite, Elberton Co., Georgia
Ultra-Rocks, Bryan Major

Chlorite-Included Quartz from Saratoga County, New York. Discovered by Bill Lombard.
Margie & Bill Lombard

Almandine Garnet from Madison Co., North Carolina
Relics Gems, Lucas Critcher

Xenotime from Norway
Shannon & Sons Minerals, Michael Shannon

Drusy Quartz from Middleville, Herkimer Co., New York
Alan's Quality Minerals, Alan Benson

Large Quartz Crystal Clusters from Ellenville, New York
James Pascale and Jordan Salits

More Large Quartz Crystal Clusters from Ellenville, New York
James Pascale and Jordan Salits

Amazonite Crystals from Anajbononiana, Manapa, Madagascar
Mikon Minerals

The 2016 NY/NJ Show - Hershel Friedman NJ Stilbite Case

April 18, 2016 Hershel Friedman (0)

Continuing along with our posts of the NY/NJ Gem & Mineral Show, this one focuses on the display case that I organized on Stilbites of New Jersey. The traprock quarries of New Jersey have produced the best Stilbites in the United States, and rank among the best in the world for the finest Stilbites.

Being that this show took place in New Jersey, I felt it was appropriate to have a theme based on an important local mineral. This post shows some of the individual Stilbite specimens in my display exhibit at the show.

The colors of these photos are slightly off. That's because the lighting of the case was using two different bulb types: one warm and one cool. (I only noticed this after the case was already set and locked.)