Mineral Shows - Trinity Mineral Co

Tucson 2010 Report 3

Tucson 2010 is likely to do down as one of the slowest shows ever for new finds. That is the general feeling and impressions of everyone here that I have talked with. But, as always seems to be the case, if you dig deep enough and talk with lots of different people you will find things that otherwise go unnoted. Tom Gressman suggested I check out Scott Klein's (Great Basin Minerals) room at the Hotel Tucson. It turns out that Scott has a new find of wulfenite from the Mobile mine, Goodsprings, Clark County, Nevada. The specimens are a bit bland in color but this is something new to talk about. Scott says they were found this past fall.

Typical specimens from Scott's lot of new wulfenite.

The best specimen I saw on display in Scott's room. The large crystal is about 1 cm across.

Rain has been a common visitor here this time. I am itching to break out the sun block any day now....

Other exciting news: The just refurbished pool at the Hotel Tucson is about 3/4 filled...

This past Sunday Steve Perry, Marcus Origlieri, Simon Hildred and I set up my apartment and had a mini-show. The attendance was up from last year and we're doing it one more time this Saturday. Pat Haynes will be joining us for the last mini-show here.

Our first mini-show day has Dr. Renato Pegano (foreground) searching through flats.

Also, On February 1, Isaias Casanova opened up his home in north Tucson for collectors. Joining him were Leonard Himes and Cal Graeber. Leonard said they were surprised at the attendance for their one day event. I suspect that they will likely do it again next year. If they do I will be back as I found about a flat's worth of interesting specimens there.

Isaias in his garage wondering what he has to do to make these rocks go away...
Here's Leonard pounding away on his laptop keyboard in the garage.

While wandering the Inn Suites I stopped in to say hi to Brice and Christophe Gobin. They always have some interesting specimens to show me.(I have to apologize up front here as I was using my phone camera to capture these and I think the job I did is an insult to these fine specimens.) This year they had one of the finer specimens of vanadinite I have seen from Morocco. Gorgeous red crystals to 2.5 cm with exceptional luster.

A stunning specimen of erythrite from Morocco with crystals to about 4 cm !

A superb 7+ cm specimen of gem elbaite and lepidolite from a new find in Paprok, Afghanistan.

And finally a flawless ametrine scepter crystal of quartz from Brandberg, South Africa. The photo does not convey the sharpness nor brilliant luster of this crystal. But at least a print from one of my grubby fingers shows up nicely... sheesh...

The Gobin's, as well as several other book and magazine dealers, are offering a new book produced by the Sorbonne Museum in France of specimens in the museum's collection. The specimens are photographed and reproduce in life size images. The captions are presented in both French and English. The cost is $125. The Mineralogical Record is also selling this book at the Hotel Tucson.

The book cover and a life size image of malachite from the Dem. Rep. of the Congo.

Ok, so here's the last piece of news to write about. If you recall a few years ago Tucson 2007 Scott Werschky (Miner's Lunchbox) had bought a large lot of some interesting material from Campbell Bridges of grossulars, blue spinels, diopside and blue calcite with or without albite associations. The material comes from the Kajiado District, Rift Valley Province, Kenya. It turned out at the time that a large percentage of the specimens were glue jobs. Scott took the material back and earlier this year decided to see which were real and which were fakes by soaking the whole lot in acetone for several days. Five flats of material was reduced to two by doing this. Then, in a twist of fate, Campbell Bridges, the discoverer of tsavorite, was brutally murdered this past August in Kenya. So, in a fitting memorial of sorts to Campbell, I will be posting the two flats worth of specimens in a Tucson Show update. Here are a few of the specimens that will be available.

3.2 x 2.5 cm rock with a 1.3 cm crystal of honey colored grossular on blue calcite.

Crystals of indigo blue spinel in calcite with muscovite. The largest spinel is 0.7 cm across.

Two lustrous crystals of blue calcite on albite with muscovite.

A gemmy 1 cm lime green diopside on calcite.

Alright then, the Westward Look show is coming and I am sure there will be plenty to rant about with that show! More to come.

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