Minerals.net

This post is a continuation of the dealer minerals at the 2018 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®. I couldn't fit all the pictures and content into a single post, so this is the second of my posts of some of the new finds or remarkable minerals presented by the dealers at the show.

Moving along the show floor, I encountered the booth of Luis Burillos Minerals, where I was shown a new find of large crystal plates of brownish-green Clinozoisite from Cerro San Cristobal, Yauli Province, Peru. These crystals were pretty nice for a usually unremarkable mineral. They were from the same deposit as those from Jaroslov Hyrsl that I saw at the InnSuites show.

Unique Minerals had several fascinating finds from the ever productive Ojuela Mine in Mapimi, Durange, Mexico. This classic locality, considered to be among the most famous and significant mineral specimen deposits in the world, just doesn't stop giving. Unique Minerals sported an entire shelf of newly mined (2017) brightly colored, Ojuela minerals, with the most eye-catching being bright yellow Legrandite in radiating fans, similar to the classic, highly desirable material from past decades. Other interesting Ojuela minerals included Paradamite (a rare Adamite dimorph) in highly desirable lustrous yellow crystal clusters, dark bluish-green globular Rosasite, and banded reniform Malachite.

Well-Arranged Molecules had their usual suite of minerals from the extinct Jeffrey Quarry locality in Asbestos, including some outstanding Vesuvianite, an unusual colorless Grossular, and many fine Grossular var. Hessonite crystal clusters. Well-Arranged Molecules also showed me something quite outstanding: Remarkably large, colorless Quartz crystals with an alpine-type look and feel, from a new find in the Manihar Valley, Kullu District, Himachal Pradesh, India.

Well-Arranged Molecules also had several well-formed, lustrous, dark brown Zircon crystals on matrix from Store Jufjord, Seiland Island, Alta, Finnmark, Norway. These fine Zircons are associated with dark Mica (presumably Biotite.) This find in the far northern area of Norway has been well documented by Spirifer Minerals (see their article on this here). Spirifer Minerals, located directly across the aisle from Well-Arranged Molecules, indeed had many more of these Zircons from their recent expeditions. Also at Spirifer Minerals were the new finds of skeletal and hoppered gray Halite with Tolbachtite from Lubin, as well as orange Calcite from a basalt quarry Luban, Poland. (Both these finds were mentioned earlier in my report on the InnSuites, where Spirifer Minerals first showed me these new finds.)

Heading down to the Kosnar brothers, who share an adjacent booth, I noticed Brett Kosnar of Kosnar Gem Co. had some interesting cut gem finds, the most fascinated being a champagne-colored Zircon from a new deposit in Tanzania. This material is highly lustrous, has great fire, and exhibits excellent color and transparency. Kosnar Gem Co. also had a bright green, gemmy Titanite that sparkled with a remarkable brilliance and dispersion.

Bruce Wood Minerals had a delicate but highly desirable combination of mint-green Fluorite with Huebnerite on Quartz from Mundo Nuevo, Peru. The association, crystal formation, and lack of damage on this piece was remarkable. Near the entrance to the booth, Bruce Wood also had a giant red Elbaite ("Rubellite") Tourmaline crystal cluster from the Cruzero Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil. This was quite a conversation piece, and no doubt brought some show spectators into Bruce Wood's booth.