KOFA National Wildlife Refuge - February 2004 - photo by John Veevaert
John Veevaert    PO BOX 2182   Weaverville, California  96093  USA  (888) 689-8402



Return to the 2010 Tucson Show Homepage 

Show Reports
Report 1   Report 2   Report 3   Report 4  Report 5  Report 6 

 
 
 

Tucson 2010 Report 2

This year many dealers seem to be slow to open their doors.  The traffic at the Hotel Tucson was very busy yesterday and today (Jan 29) with quite a few dealers smiling.   Getting to the show, though, is difficult as parking has been reduced with the addition of several tents in the parking lot.  Unless you get there early you'll be lucky to find a spot even in the large dirt lot just north of the hotel. It also seems that the best mineral pickings are at the Hotel Tucson.  I have been to several other venues including the Executive Inn and most feel like ghost towns.  The good rocks this far into the show are at the Hotel Tucson.

One of the dealers I always look forward to visiting early is Luiz Menezes.  A few years ago at the Munich Show Luiz had some specimens of the rare phosphate guimaraesite available.  The spherical crystalline masses of that find were hard to distinguish from the similarly colored matrix.  He has a new find of this species on albite from the Taquaral Seco mine, Itinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil.  It is also associated with eosphorite/childrenite. The guimaraesite (Ca2(Zn,Mg,Fe)5Be4(PO4)6(OH)4) in this find is also a bit different as the masses are zoned changing from zanazziite to greifensteinite to guimaraesite.  But unlike most rare minerals this one is rather attractive.     


A 5.5 cm specimen of albite with crystals of eosphorite to 1.3 cm and numerous balls of guimaraesite to 5 mm across.


A close up photo of one of the guimaraesite masses.
Czech dealer Dr. Jaroslav Hyrsl had his usual array of fine Peruvian minerals including some very nice specimens of the fluorite from Mundo Nuevo, La Libertad, Peru.  What he has that is significant are some of the largest crystals of coquimbite ever found.  Jaroslav is not one to embellish facts so for him to state that will invariably grab my attention.  Coquimbite, a sulfate of iron, usually has a short shelf life as it is prone to absorbing water from the air. So I asked Jaroslav about that and he indicated that these are atypically stable.  These specimens have a very rich violet color and when first found the locals thought that they were apatite due to the crystal form.  Associated minerals found with the coquimbite include: metavoltine, alunogen, halotrichite, krausite, jarosite and chalcanthite.
 
 

A 4 cm specimen of coquimbite with blocky crystals to 1.5 cm.
 

 
Dennis Beals (Xtal) was busy this past fall down in Mexico.  He had large selection of the raspberry color grossulars from Sierra de Cruces, Coahuilla, Mexico.  These have been known for about 15 years but no new specimens have made it to the market for at least 10 years.  Dennis' room was total mayhem today and he was all smiles.  He has specimens left but needless to day the best have left the building.  A few specimens had a nice association with vesuvianite.
 
 
6 cm specimen of the raspberry colored grossulars.
 
 
 
 
A rare association piece - 6 cm specimen with a 2.5 cm vesuvianite and pink grossular. 
 
 
 
Tucson can offer you surprises at any moment.  I was offered a 125 piece lot of Iranian specimens out of the blue by someone at the Executive Inn in their parking lot.  One look and I said yes.  Numerous specimens including wulfenite, cerussite, hemimorphite, calcite, mimetite, aurichalcite and others.  A very nice mix of specimens from this nearly impossible to get into country.  Below is just one of many...
 
 

A 5.5 cm specimen with bright yellowish orange crystals of wulfenite to 0.7 cm across.
 
 
 
At this point in the 2010 Tucson experience I would have to say, after many discussions with folks like Tom Moore and Jeff Scovil, that there is not much new in the mineral world.  Most people are focusing on the classics and specimens from recycled collections.  I suspect that most of my updates from this year's show will be with specimens of this sort.  To that end I will close this second report with two pictures of an interesting copper specimen I found with Don & Gloria Olson - a thick wire copper specimen from the Mohawk Mine, Keweenaw Co., Michigan.
 

an 8 cm specimen of native copper with attached matrix.  I am not sure what animal it most looks like...
 
 
One last piece of sad news to pass along is the death, two days ago, of Reno, Nevada dealer Harvey Gordon. One of the most generous souls this hobby has ever known will be sorely missed by many who knew him...
 
 
A shot of Harvey at the 2008 Tucson Show.
 
I will have more in a couple days on what is happening here in Tucson.


Past Shows & Reports
PLEASE NOTE: The minerals that were offered on these pages are all sold
1999
Munich Show
2000
Sainte Marie Show
Munich Show
2001
Sainte Marie Show
Munich Show
2002
Tucson Show
Sainte Marie Show
Denver Show
Munich Show
2003
Tucson Show
Sainte Marie Show
East Coast Show
Denver Show
Munich Show
2004
Tucson Show
West Coast Show
East Coast Show
Denver Show
Munich Show
2005
Tucson Show
West Coast Show
East Coast Show
Denver Show
Munich Show
2006
Tucson Show
Bologna Show
Sainte Marie Show
East Coast Show
Munich Show
2007
Tucson Show
Dallas Show
East Coast Show
Denver Show
Munich Show
2008
Tucson Show
West Coast Show
East Coast Show
Denver Show
Munich Show
2009
Tucson Show
West Coast Show
East Coast Show
Denver Show
Munich Show

2010
Tucson Show
San Francisco Show
East Coast Show
Denver Show

Munich Show

2011
Tucson Show
San Francisco Show
East Coast Show
Denver Show
Munich Show

2012
Tucson Show
West Coast Show
East Coast Show
Denver Show 
Munich Show

2013
Tucson Show
Sainte Marie Show
Crystal Days (Poland)
Munich Show  

 

 
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