Minerals.net

University of Arizona Mineral Museum: Special Exhibit

March 21, 2015 Hershel Friedman (0)

Every year, the University of Arizona in Tucson hosts a special exhibit in their mineral museum, located in the Flandrau Science Center. This exhibit is present at the time of the show in Tucson, and I have been visiting the museum every year during my visit to Tucson. This year's special exhibit was titled "Mineral Evolution: Mineralogy in the Fourth Dimension." Represented were rock-forming minerals and minerals showcasing the evolution process of the formation of minerals.

Most of the larger exhibit areas were filled with fossil cases, but there was still a nice representation of interesting and unique minerals, of which some are shared in the post below.

Click on the images below for larger pictures. The pop-up pictures can also be downloaded in a higher resolution by right clicking them to save them locally.)

Forsterite Kolonne, Uva Province, Sri Lanka

Huge Forsterite crystal from Kolonne, Uva Province, Sri Lanka
Mark Le Font Collection

Large and Hairy Rutile Cluster from Novo Horizonte, Bahia, Brazil
University of Arizona Mineral Museum Collection

Polished Toluca Iron Meteorite from Mexico State, Mexico
Mark Le Font Collection

University of Arizona Mineral Museum pegmatites

Various Pegmatite Gem Minerals
Multiple Collections

Vertical Section of one of the Display Cases
Multiple Collections

Calcite With Dioptase Inclusions, Tsumeb, Namibia

Amazing Calcite Colored Blue-Green by Dioptase Inclusions from Tsumeb, Namibia
Mark Le Font Collection

Giant Botryoidal Rhodochrosite from the Oppu Mine, Japan
Mark Le Font Collection

Manganese Nodules from Project Azorian
Multiple Collections

Rare Whewellite Crystal from Zwickau, Saxony, Germany
Marcus J. Origlieri Collection

Various Mineral Pseudomorphs After Wood
Multiple Collections

Opal after Calcite after Ikaite from White Cliffs, NSW, Australia
Museum Gift from the de Monmonier Estate

Danburite Showing Regular Crystal and Similar Specimen Replaced by Quartz from Charcas, Mexico
Marcus J. Origlieri Collection

Elbaite from the Himalaya Mine, San Diego Co., California, Next to a
Pseudomorph of Trilithionite after Elbaite from Minas Gerais, Brazil
Arizona Historical Society (R) and Marcus J. Origlieri (L) Collections

Copper pseudomorph after Cuprite Rubtsovsk, Russia

Cuprite and Copper Pseudomorph after Cuprite from Rubtsovsk, Russia
Marcus J. Origlieri Collection

Pseudomorphs from the Bor Pit, Dal'negorsk, Russia

Quartz pseudomorph After Datolite and Danburite, Bor Pit, Dal'negorsk, Russia
Bill Shelton Collection

Staurolite Fairy Cross Pestsovye Keivy, Kola Peninsula, Russia

Staurolite "Fairy Cross" in Matrix from Pestsovye Keivy, Kola Peninsula, Russia
Mark Le Font Collection

Very Large Afghanite Crystals in Matrix from Sar-e-Sang, Afghanistan
Mark Le Font Collection

Pink Heulandite Geode from Pune, Maharashtra, India
Mark Le Font Collection

Thumbnail Exhibits at the Tucson Show

March 12, 2015 Hershel Friedman (0)

There were several thumbnail exhibits with fine minerals of excellent quality and smaller size. These thumbnail exhibits are listed below.

Click on the images below for larger pictures. The pop-up pictures can also be downloaded in a higher resolution by right clicking them to save them locally.)

Individual Tourmaline Minerals at the TGMS Show

March 12, 2015 Hershel Friedman (0)

Tourmaline is considered by many collectors to be the most beautiful mineral. Its multicolor crystals in highly aesthetic formation lend it an enigmatic beauty few minerals can compete against. There are always fine Tourmalines on display at the Tucson show, and this year was no exception. In fact, I noticed quite an abundance of interesting Tourmalines, and was especially enamored by Gerhard Wagner's Tourmaline exhibit of trophy Tourmaline specimens, which was pictured in a previous post here on our news blog. The post below displays some of the individual Tourmaline crystals at the show.

Click on the images below for larger pictures. The pop-up pictures can also be downloaded in a higher resolution by right clicking them to save them locally.)

Bluecap Tourmaline Queen Mine, Pala, California

Bluecap Tourmaline from the Tourmaline Queen Mine, Pala, California
Unknown Collection

Tourmaline Mt. Marie Quarry, Paris, Maine

Green Tourmaline Crystal and Gem from the Mt. Marie Quarry, Paris, Maine
Maine Gem & Mineral Museum

Well-Terminated Tourmalines from the Pederneira Mine, Sao Jose de Safira, MG, Brazil
Gerhard Wagner Collection

Orange-red Tourmaline from the Himalaya Mine, Mesa Grande, California
Gerhard Wagner Collection

Aesthetic Tourmaline "Flower" from the Pederneira Mine, Sao Jose de Safira, MG, Brazi
Gerhard Wagner Collection

Misc Individual Minerals at the TGMS Show

March 11, 2015 Hershel Friedman (0)

This post provides a glimpse at several individual minerals at the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show® from the worldwide exhibit cases that I found interesting.

Click on the images below for larger pictures. The pop-up pictures can also be downloaded in a higher resolution by right clicking them to save them locally.)

Copper University of Arizona Mineral Museum

Copper Crystals from the Chino Open Pit, New Mexico
The University of Arizona Mineral Museum

Gold The Thunderbolt Mt. Monger, Western Australia

Remarkable Crystallized Gold ("The Thunderbolt") from Mt. Monger, Western Australia, Found in 2014
Rob Lavinsky

Enormous Tanzanite Crystal - the Largest I Have Ever Seen
Marcus Budil

Calcite Zhaotong Prefecture, Yunnan Prov China

Beautiful Hexagonal Calcite from Zhaotong Prefecture, Yunnan Prov., China
Unknown Collection. Note the incredible double refraction!

Crystallized Gold and Wire Silver
The Gold is from Ace of Diamonds Mine, Washington; the Silver from Kongsberg, Norway
Unknown Collection

Rhodochrosite tetrahedrite Graham's Pocket Sweet Home Mine Alma Colorado

Rhodochrosite on Tetrahedrite from Graham's Pocket, Sweet Home Mine, Alma, Colorado
Unknown Collection. The red color is the raw photo and not enhanced!

Pink Calcite "Butterfly Twin" from Dal'negorsk, Russia
Unknown Minerals of Russia Exhibit

Rhodochrosite Oppu Mine, Aomori Prefecture, Japan

Botryoidal Rhodochrosite from the Oppu Mine, Aomori Prefecture, Japan
Unknown Collection

The "Smoky Hawk King", a giant Amazonite with Smoky Quartz, Smoky Hawk Claim, Florissant, CO
Dorris Family Collection

Wulfenite Old Yuma Mine, Pima Co., Arizona

Large and Lustrous Wulfenite from the Old Yuma Mine, Pima Co., Arizona
Arizona Sonora Desert Museum

Large Hydroxylherderite from the Havey Quarry, Poland, Maine
Maine Mineral & Gem Museum

Purple Fluorapatite with Siderite Panasquieira Mines, Portugal

Beautiful Purple Fluorapatite with Siderite from the Panasquieira Mines, Portugal
(This Should be in the Western European Exhibits, but I Accidentally Left it out of there.)
Tom and Gail Spann

Misc Exhibits at the TGMS Show Part 2

March 10, 2015 Hershel Friedman (0)

This post is the second one giving a pictorial guide to the various showcase exhibits at the Tucson show. This post and the one before it are of all the non-themed cases. The themed cases of "Minerals of Western Europe" have been described in their own separate posts.

Click on the images below for larger pictures. The pop-up pictures can also be downloaded in a higher resolution by right clicking them to save them locally.)

High Quality, Colorful Minerals
Various Collectors

Pyrite from Around the World
Unknown Case

Minerals of Russia
Unknown Case

Misc Worldwide Minerals
Unknown Case

Breast Cancer Survivors Tucson Show Minerals 2015

Exhibit Dedicated to Breast Cancer Survivors
Various Women Collectors

Misc Worldwide Minerals
Unknown Case

Minerals of Namibia
Trafford Flynn Minerals

Minerals from Tsumeb, Namibia
Unknown Case

Misc Worldwide Minerals
Bisbeeborn Minerals

Native Copper Specimens
Label Says "Copper Queen Branch", so my Assumption is this is from Bisbee

Classic Minerals of Mexico
Tom Hales Collection

Misc Worldwide Minerals
Scott Rudolph Collection

The "Smoky Hawk King" and other Beatiful Amazonites and Smoky Quartz
From the Smoky Hawk Claim, Florissant, Teller Co., Colorado
Dorris Family Collection