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MINERALS FEATURED IN 2008--still | 2007 Minerals | 2006 Minerals | 2005 Minerals | 2004 Minerals | 2003 Minerals | 2002 Minerals | 2001 Minerals | 2000 Minerals | Junior-Size Minerals by the Year | Past Offers & Reports
2005 Featured Minerals
 Gypsum
after glauberite, Camp Verde, Yavapai County, Arizona |
JANUARY 2005 We featured pseudomorphs of gypsum after glauberite
from Camp Verde, Arizona, and the write-up explained in depth the
various ways that pseudomorphs form. (Want to know more about pseudomorphism
by alteration, pseudomorphism by incrustation, epimorphs, endomorphs,
and perimorphs-- the write-up explains them all!) The write-up also had some
information on the locality from the old Mineral of the Month Club run by
Russ & Alexandra Filer in the 1970's and 1980's. |
 Molybdenite,
Wolfram Camp, near Dimbulah, Queensland, Australia. |
FEBRUARY 2005 We were really excited to feature molybdenite [MoS2] in
February! We never thought we'd find a large enough lot of quality specimens
of this rare mineral, the primary ore of the fascinating element molybdenum,
and are delighted to report that we did! The write-up detailed all the
interesting properties of the element and the mineral--an
outstanding month as we learned all about "moly." |
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MARCH 2005 Our 9th Anniversary! To celebrate the ninth anniversary
of our Club, we featured beautiful spessartine garnet from the new find in
China, as described in the March-April 2005 Mineralogical Record magazine. (The photo
doesn't capture the true beauty of the specimen.) Gold-Level-size specimens this
month were on matrix sized between 2" by 2" and 3" by 3", and upgrades
were
available-- contact us for details. |
Spessartine, Tongbei, Yuling regions, Zhangzhou Prefecture, Fujian
Province, China |
Augelite, Rapid Creek, Yukon Territory, Canada |
APRIL 2005 This was another wonderful month, as we
featured the rare phosphate mineral augelite [Al2(PO4)(OH)3] as small green
crystals on matrix from the Rapid Creek area of Yukon, Canada. As often
happens when we feature a rare mineral, Gold-Level and Platinum specimens were smaller than normal.
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MAY 2005 Another exceptional month featuring a colorful mineral! While
in Tucson, we picked out a great lot of colorful orange orpiment
[As2S3] from Russia. These brightly colored pieces were again a little
smaller than usual. The Russian dealers were rather sorry to see them go, as
they have not been able to recover any more on subsequent trips to the
remote collecting area. |
Orpiment, Elbrusskiy Mine, Northern Caucasus Region, Russia |
Opal, Opal Butte, 35 miles south of Heppner, Morrow County, Oregon |
June
2005 Finally, after many of years of seeking, we purchased a large lot of
opal [SiO2∙nH2O] from Oregon to feature. Specimens consisted of opal
seams in matrix, recovered from the Thundereggs so plentiful at Opal Butte,
Oregon, each with its own unique color of opal: white, brown, yellow,
blue, and even clear!
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| July 2005 This was a heavy month,
with a really high postage bill for us, as we featured galena [PbS], the
primary ore of lead (Pb). Our specimens come from the mines of the famous Viburnum
Trend of Missouri, and the write-up will delve into the unique
properties of the heavy element lead, and the the history of this
important ore-producing area. |
 Galena,
Viburnum Trend District, Iron County, Missouri |
 Purpurite,
Sandamap Pegmatite, Usakos, Karibib District, Namibia |
August
2005 Another colorful month, as we featured another rare phosphate
mineral, purpurite [Mn3+PO4] from Sandamap (or Sandamab) Pegmatite, Usakos, Karibib
District, Namibia. Purpurite is one of the few purple minerals found,
and one of the few minerals which has never been found in crystalline form.
It also forms a series with the closely related mineral heterosite
[Fe3+PO4], leading some authorities to conclude that Sandamap specimens
should actually be called heterosite. The write-up explains all this, elaborates on
purpurite's unique properties, explains the unusual
mode of formation of this beautiful mineral, and gives some background
information on this mineral-rich African nation, home of Tsumeb, considered
by many as the world's finest mineral locality. |
| September
2005 We were very excited to be able to feature prehnite
[Ca2Al2Si3O10(OH)2] from a recent find in Bendoukou, Sandaré District, Kayes
Region, Mali, Africa. Because this is a new find, and the specimens are very
pretty, Gold-Level-size specimens were smaller than what we typically send,
as ball-shaped clusters about 1" in diameter. The write-up explained its
complex crystal structure, and how its name started a trend in the naming of
minerals. |
 Prehnite,
Bendoukou, Sandaré District, Kayes Region, Mali |
Gypsum, variety Selenite, Las Salinas de Paracas, Paracas, Pisco, Ica
Dept., Peru |
October
2005 We worked for a couple of years to obtain
a large lot of pretty golden gypsum, variety selenite [CaSO42H2O] from
Peru, and featured it in September 2005. This year is
shaping up as the most colorful year of minerals we've ever featured! (The
photo doesn't capture the true golden color of the crystals.) |
| November 2005 We found a
large lot of exceptional celestite [SrSO4] (or should we say, more correctly, celestine,) from Beineu-Kyr, Turkmenistan. These form as small,
sharp, water-clear and iron-stained crystals in vugs in a clay matrix, and
are quite beautiful. These pieces came from the former Soviet-mineral
exporting bureau some years ago,
and had been sitting in a gem dealer's warehouse for years as part of a huge
lot of Russian minerals. We may be able to obtain other outstanding Russian
minerals from this lot. |
Celestine (Celestite), Beinev-Kyr, Turkmenistan |
Clinochlore ("Seraphinite"), Korshunovskoe mine, near Zheleznogorsk,
Angara-Ilim Basin, Irkutskaya Oblast’, Russia |
December
2005 We weren't able to get the ruby in matrix pieces we hoped to-- our
Russian contact was not able to go to the Kola Peninsula to get us newly
collected specimens. So instead, we thought we would take advantage of the
fact that there is a large amount of beautiful clinochlore
[(Mg,Al)6(Si,Al)4O10(OH)8] available now and feature it in December. These
were polished slices of a gorgeous banded green and white, more commonly
called "seraphinite." This will be the first (and probably last) member of
the chlorite mineral group that we will feature, and gave us a unique
opportunity to focus on this group in the write-up. |
| Would you like to order all 12 minerals we've
featured in 2005? They are gypsum after glauberite, molybdenite,
spessartine, augelite, orpiment, opal, galena, purpurite, prehnite, gypsum
variety selenite, celestine, and clinochlore, variety seraphinite. Order here:
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| We still have some
of these wonderful minerals available. Call us at 1-800-941-5594
or E-mail us at mailto:Richard@Mineralofthemonthclub.org
if you're interested in receiving one or more as part of your membership! |
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