When I was at the Mineral City show in Tucson, I met Italian fine mineral dealer Frederico Barlocher at the room of Lithos Minerals. Lithos had some very interesting new mineral finds, and I was chatting with Frederico about them. He then invited me outside to the parking lot to show me some amazing specimens for our blog, that he had in his car. I was blown away by the quality of these specimens, and included these minerals as an individual news post.
Large Pink Matrix Specimen of Pezzottaite Crystals from Madagascar
Frederico Barlocher
Large Gemmy Emerald on Matrix from Malyshevo, Russia
Frederico Barlocher
Giant V-Shaped Diaspore Crystal Twin from Muglah Province, Turkey
Frederico Barlocher
Alex Amiel of Crystallize had some fascinating, newly-released Fluorite, Selenite, Celestine, Sphalerite, and other minerals from the Dolomite quarries of Western New York. Exceptional Fluorite has been sporadically mined from the Penfield and Walworth Quarries near Rochester, with blue and purple being the best known. Alex recently acquired an old collection from Bob Hiler, a native of the Rochester area who spent many years collecting fine minerals at these quarries.
Bob recently dispersed his collection, and Alex acquired a dazzling array of minerals, including many from the Penfield Quarry. I was blown away at the quality and quantity of what Alex had shown me at the Tucson Mineral City Show, and the highlights are presented below.
Large Selenite Crystal from the Penfield Quarry, Monroe Co.
Crystallize
Purple Fluorite with Anhydrite Casts from the Penfield Quarry, Monroe Co., NY
Crystallize
Purple Fluorite Cube on Matrix with Sphalerite from the Penfield Quarry, Monroe Co., NY
Crystallize
Celestine Crystal Embedded in Selenite from the Penfield Quarry, Monroe Co., NY
Crystallize
Frosted Blue Fluorite with Dolomite from the Penfield Quarry, Monroe Co., NY
Crystallize
Transparent Sphalerite from the Penfield Quarry, Monroe Co., NY
Crystallize
Blue Fluorite Cubes on Dolomite from the Penfield Quarry, Monroe Co., NY
Crystallize
An amazing new find at Tucson 2020 was large, acicular Rutile with a golden yellow color from Ibiajara, Bahia, Brazil. These golden yellow Rutile have been coming out from Brazil for many years, often associated with Hematite or included with Quartz, but never have the Rutile crystals been this large and impressive.
The crystals formed hairy, fragile acicular crystals often in six-pointed stars associated with Hematite, and were found at the Miner's Lunchbox room at the Tucson Mineral City Show. Miner's lunchbox featured more of these fascinating specimens at the Main Show as well. It is truly impressive how they were able to transport these minerals from the source around the globe to Tucson.
Acicular Rutile Crystals from Ibiajara, Bahia, Brazil
Miner's Lunchbox
Acicular Rutile Crystals from Ibiajara, Bahia, Brazil
Miner's Lunchbox
Acicular Rutile Crystals from Ibiajara, Bahia, Brazil
Miner's Lunchbox
Acicular Rutile Crystals from Ibiajara, Bahia, Brazil
Miner's Lunchbox
Acicular Rutile Crystals from Ibiajara, Bahia, Brazil
Miner's Lunchbox
One of the new mineral highlights in Tucson 2020 was a suite of fantastic minerals from the M'fouati region in the Republic of Congo. Spirifer Minerals had an impressive display of some new finds of Dioptase, Wulfenite, Cerussite, and Smithsonite from this productive area. Specimens from this region have been seen sporadically over the years, but Spirifer's display of recent production was impressive and memorable. I first encountered a case full of these new minerals in the Spirifer room at the Mineral City Show, and subsequently at their booth at the 2020 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®.
This post features some of the displays at the Congo Finds from the Spirifer Minerals at the Tucson Mineral City Show.
Case of new Brazaville/M'fouati Area in Congo with a Hanging Sign next to the Case
Spirifer Minerals
Showcase of the New Congo Minerals at Spirifer
Spirifer Minerals
Blue Smithsonite from the M'Fouati Area in Congo
Spirifer Minerals
Multicolored Smithsonite from the M'Fouati Area in Congo
Spirifer Minerals
Twinned Cerussite Crystals in Matrix from the M'Fouati Area in Congo
Spirifer Minerals
Twinned Cerussite Crystals from the M'Fouati Area in Congo
Spirifer Minerals
Cerussite Twinned Crystals with Mimetite from the M'Fouati Area in Congo
Spirifer Minerals
Much of the action of the Tucson mineral shows has shifted further north, to the neighborhood surrounding the Mineral City show. This area of Tucson on East Lester Street, near North Oracle Road, has become a hub for fine mineral dealers, providing them with year-round mineral storage and a nice display area.
Many dealers are finding this setup to be advantageous, and this show has doubled in size since last year. Makeshift tents and additional dealers have also sprouted up in the vicinity. This has taken a toll on the InnSuites, with many dealers finding the Mineral City setup more efficient than renting hotel rooms. There were several prominent dealers no longer present at the InnSuites and instead only at Mineral City.
We will divide the Mineral City show into several posts:
- Mineral City Part 1 (this post)
- Mineral City Part 2
- Large Rutile from Brazil from Miner's Lunchbox
- Congo finds from Spirifer Minerals
- New York Fluorite
- Frederico Barlocher Parking Lot Minerals
Large White Elbaite from Ometto's Pocket, Rosina Vein, Elba Island, Italy
Dusted 77 Fine Minerals
Fluorite Cube on Matrix from the Nikolaevskiy Mine, Dalnegorsk, Russia
Dusted 77 Fine Minerals
