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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.

With all the changes at the Tucson shows in 2022, the mineral scene was a vastly different landscape than it's been in previous years. Change was already in the air in 2020, and with the majority of the shows cancelled or scaled down in 2021, 2022 was a game changer.

The most noticeable change was the demise of the InnSuites show. This show, hosted in the hotel Tucson, was one of the most exciting mineral events in Tucson, with many recognized dealers setting up their wares in the rooms of this sprawling hotel that had a very chilled atmosphere. Most of the dealers and activity from this show shifted several blocks north to the Mineral City show and the surrounding area.

The Mineral City show was greatly expanded this year, with many more dealers setting up in this new complex of buildings built specifically for dealers to exhibit during their show and store their wares for longer term storage. Several other dealers had tents in the immediate vicinity of Mineral City, making this area a bustling destination area for mineral collectors and other dealers.

Even with the Hotel Tucson devoid of internal mineral activity, the neighborhood still retained the Fine Minerals International home with high-end minerals, and a new venue opened up in the same vicinity with several important dealers and a display gallery. This building also features more permanent-type of features for the dealers to have a year-round home. 

Clearly there has been a shift from dealers selling out of hotel rooms to instead have their own leased location where they can store minerals year round. This new format has been successful and has caused a noticeable decrease in dealers at the main show. Some of the mainstays of the main show from previous years were noticeably missing, and there was much more empty space than usual. Despite this, the show was still great, with great exhibits and a healthy showing of good dealers with interesting new material. I went around the show floor looking for interesting material to show for our show report, and these are the minerals, featured below.

One of the themes of the 2022 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show® was fluorescent minerals. In order to see the glow of fluorescent minerals, they need to be lit with an ultraviolet light in a dark room. This was accomplished in a side room off the main show floor with many displays filled with brightly glowing minerals shining under ultraviolet lamps.

The number of minerals and displays was impressive, and we were able to get photographs of some of the minerals and displays exhibiting the bright fluorescent colors. (Photographing ultraviolet minerals under a UV light is complex without a tripod, and we are glad these came out well.)

Fluorescent Minerals from Sweden
Douglas & Justin Bank

Esperite & Friends from Franklin, NJ
Richard Bostwick & Tema Hecht

Fluorescent Minerals from the Land of Enchantment
New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources

Green Willemite and Red Calcite from the Sterling Hill Mine, Ogdensburg, NJ
Collection of Robert Fendrich

Fluorescent Minerals of the Southwest US & Mexico
Collection of Paul Gilliam, Albuquerque, NM

Fluorescent Green Chalcedony from the Green Fire Prospect, Cochise Co., Arizona
Collection of Collection of Erin Delventhal & Philip Simmons

Fluorescence Zoning in Apatite
Collection of John Rakovan

Esperite, from the Franklin Mine, Franklin NJ
George V. Polman Collection

Various Fluorescent Minerals
Mines Museum of Earth Science, Colorado School of Mines

Various Fluorescent Minerals
Kevin Witts Collection

Various Fluorescent Minerals
Unknown

This year's Tucson Gem and Mineral Show® featured an outstanding public display of minerals of Bisbee, Arizona, dedicated to the memory of Richard W. "Dick" Graeme III, who passed away in June. Bisbee is known as one of the most famous and prolific mineral localities, with a rich history in copper mining and a producer of some of the finest azurite, malachite, and a myriad of other mineral specimens. Dick was a foremost authority on Bisbee mineralogy and history, and the show featured many cases filled with outstanding Bisbee minerals dedicated to the memory of Dick.

These displays filled an entire section of the show floor, and were professionally organized, had good lighting, and nice informational backgrounds. And they were filled with some of the very best Bisbee minerals ever to be seen. This was a show highlight, perhaps equal in prominence to the main show themes of the Apatite group and fluorescent minerals.

This post features some of the remarkable individual minerals in the display exhibits at the 2022 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®. The show theme was the Apatite group of minerals, which includes Fluorapatite, Pyromorphite, Mimetite, and Vanadinite.

There were several outstanding minerals within this category on display, but there were many other non-themed minerals on display that were exceptional. This post features many of the themed minerals as well as others that I found noteworthy, including the remarkable Bisbee minerals of the Graeme tribute displays.