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October 2002
Finally, we have the opportunity to offer
you some of the wonderful new material we brought home from Denver!
In connection with last month’s featured mineral, conichalcite, we
endeavored to obtain some of the other minerals belonging to the adelite group.
However, most are quite rare, and we were only able to procure a few specimens
of duftite, the lead copper arsenate member, as tiny yellow-green balls
with chrysocolla on matrix up to 2" by 2" for $12. And because August’s
write-up highlighted cobalt as an element, we obtained a few specimens of cobaltite,
from Idaho, as a number of small, crude cubic crystals on matrix for $10. Our
African connection also provided us with some wonderfully aesthetic specimens of carrollite from the D.R.C. These are highly lustrous, metallic gray
octahedral crystals on a matrix of white calcite. Unfortunately, they are buried
in the back of our Van, and we’ll have to give you the details next month. If
you just can’t wait, call us after November 5th and we’ll have
them available for description. They are exceptional but a little pricey, from
about $50 to $125. We also received a few small pieces of sphaerocobaltite,
from the Kakanda Mine, D.R.C. Because of the rarity of this mineral, even small
pieces are expensive. We have a couple of matrix pieces about 1" by 1"
with small blebs of cranberry-colored sphaerocobaltite on them for $25.
In Denver, we picked out some nice realgar in the form of bright red
coatings on calcite matrix, up to 2" by 1½" for $10, from the Gold
Bar Mine, Eureka County, Nevada. We also obtained some shiny metallic pyrite
discoids from Wuzhou, Guangxi Province, China. We have small discoid-shaped
groups of small pyrite rounded cubes up to 1¼" in diameter for $8, and
larger pieces up to 3" in diameter for $24. Also new are some large pieces
of tincalconite after borax from the Baker mine, Boron, California. These
are the dehydration product of borax, especially interesting because if they are
held under water, they begin to absorb the water, and alter to borax; the change
releases energy in the form of heat and the pieces become red-hot! We have a
cluster of crystals about 4" by 4" for $25, and another the same size
with a couple of prominent crystals about 2" long for $45; and 2 large
single altered crystals about 4½" by 3" for $35 and one about
5½" by 3" for $45.
We still have a couple of botryoidal hematite from Iroud, Morocco, as
a layer of bubbly gray hematite on a red iron-rich matrix up to 3" by
2" for $24. And We still have
six native iron pieces left from the famous locality on Disko Island,
Greenland. Since most native iron found is in the form of meteorites, these
pieces are often called Terrestrial iron in order to differentiate them. These
are about 15mm in size, $3.50 each or 2 for $6
At the recent Jade Festival, at the end of
the show, we procured a super deal on a nice lot of polished Big Sur jade
pieces, about two to three times the size of the ones we sent to Club members
when we featured jade in July 2000. These are quite lovely pieces up to 6"
by 3" for $50. Check the web for photos!
In last month’s newsletter, we mentioned pyrite eggs from Peru and rhodochrosite
eggs from Argentina. We have eggs up to about 50mm high cut from pyrite
clusters, with irregular surfaces showing the natural pyrite crystal forms for
$27. We also have some smaller eggs about 40mm high made from the stalactitic
rhodochrosite with its glorious shades of pink and white, also for $27. We’ll
include a plastic stand with each one at no extra cost.
Also, if you’re interested in tumbled stones, we have the following rare
ones: lovely lilac to purple and white swirled Charoite from Siberia,
Russia, up to about 1" by 1" or so for $3; light pink and white Manganoan
Calcite up to about 2" by 1" for $2; intense pink and white Rhodochrosite
from Argentina, up to 2" by 1" for $3; banded Fluorite with
yellow the dominant color from Argentina for .75, about 1" by 1";
surprisingly heavy Copper nuggets about 2" by 1" from the
Keeweenah Peninsula, northern Michigan, for $2; and more Mongolian Jet, a
petrified wood related to lignite coal, shiny black pieces up to 3" by
3" for $3. If you want one of each, we could make it $12 for the lot. And
of course if you’re interested in a quantity of any, perhaps for gifts for
young relatives or the something, call or E-mail us and we’ll give you a bulk
price.
We also recently obtained a small lot of an amazing, rare petrified fern
from Araguaina, Brazil. The species name is Tietea Singularis and they
are believed to be of Permian age. We have polished pieces and bookends showing
the full beauty of the multicolor pieces– check the Web for photos. On all
these pieces, the mineral replacement is so complete that you can see what
appears to be the cell-like structure of the plant– remarkable! We still have
the larger bookends set, about 6" high and 5" wide for $135. The
larger set has large knothole-like holes on each piece, perhaps where the palm
frond went through it.
We also have a thin polished slab about 8" high and 7½" across for
$120, including a plastic stand;
A thick slab about 1½" thick, 9" across, and 5" high for $80
And a smaller piece cut and polished flat on the front and bottom but still
showing the rough outer structure, about 3" thick, over 5" across, and
4" high, for $72
A collector brought us some wonderful turquoise-blue chunks of Brucite
[Mg(OH)2] in slag from a historic mill site in Inyo County,
California. These formed in the kiln as a result of the processing of mineral
salts from a nearby dry lake. We have fist-size chunks up to about 3.5" by
2.5" for $18. We also have more Okenite [Ca10Si18O46C18H2O],
our January 1998 featured mineral. These are the soft white puffball crystal
groups people routinely think is mold or some other strange growth! We have them
on a basalt matrix from India in Deluxe-size pieces up to 4" by 3" for
$22.50 and Junior size pieces up to 2" by 2" for $10.
AMMONITE FOSSILS REPLACED BY PYRITE FROM MICHAILOV, RUSSIA We
just received a new batch of these beauties– the inside has been cut and
polished to show off the shiny pyrite and some of the details of the shell.
These pieces are up to 1" high and ¾" wide, for $10
We have accumulated a nice set of Rocks & Minerals magazines-- all
18 bi-monthly issues covering January-February 1996 through November-December
1998. Lots of great articles and photos for just $30 plus shipping. Also, we
have obtained a new short/long wave UV lamp, and would like to sell our
previous lamp, which is shortwave only. We've had it for several years, but it
is in like-new condition. It's a powerful, hand-held model, very nice. The list
price is over $220, and we'll sell it for $150 plus shipping. Call or Email if
you need more details.
As you know from your monthly
specimens we send you as part of our Club, we always feature especially nice
pieces, and usually at bargain prices! Of course, when you order a mineral we’ve
previously featured in our Club, we’ll always send the write-up with your next
monthly write-up so you can read up on it.
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