KOFA Wildlife Refuge - March, 2007 - photo by John Veevaert
John Veevaert    PO BOX 2182   Weaverville, California  96093  USA  (888) 689-8402



Return to the 2009 Tucson Show Homepage 

Show Reports
Report 1   Report 2   Report 3   Report 4  Report 5  Report 6  Report 7  Report 8

 

Updated February 16, 2009

This is the page where new finds are posted from the Show.  The first set are all new specimens from new finds and recent acquisitions.  The February 16th update represents the last of the Tucson 2009 specimen updates.  See you all here again next year!


Click any of the preset buttons for quick access to What's New

You'll then be presented with a page of specimens to consider.
ALL specimens from the last three auctions and gallerieswill be shipped after February 18th from Tucson.

Thanks for your interest!


 
 


This link will take you to any available specimens listed from $2500 and Up. 

This link will take you to any available specimens listed from $1000 to $2500. 

This link will take you to any available specimens listed from $500 to $1000. 


Benitoite

February 16th

Benitoite Gem Mine - My partner Steve Perry and I etched Benitoite Gem mine specimens ahead of the show and I pulled 35 of the best for this update.  We sold a lot of specimens at our show here in my apartment but we made a decision to hold the best for the web.  Wait'll you see the neptunite specimen I etched just before this past Christmas not to mention a small benitoite window pane.  Man I love this stuff.


Apatite

February 16th

Afghanistan Apatite - French dealer Francois Lietard had four of these specimens of rich purple colored apatite from the Sorey Mine in Dara Pech, Afganistan available.  I picked up three specimens and each has rich purple colored crystals of apatite similar in color to the Pulslifer mine in Maine... Well, they are close to that color I assure you. Francois said these were found this past late summer in Afghanistan.


Kottigite


Rosasite

February 14th

Mexican Minerals - I rounded up a few odds and ends from Mexico while on this trip to Tucson. Inlcluding and remarkably large cabinet specimen of violet creedite from the Marvin Rausch Collection.


Wulfenite - Arizona


Elbaite - California

February 14th

Mixed Tucson Minerals - Here's a large group of random specimens obtained here in Tucson over the past three weeks. 

February 12th

Rheniite from Russia - Czech Republic dealer Petr Sztacho had a large number of good pieces from the former USSR states but what really caught my eye were specimens he had of the only known mineral containing the element rhenium. They are rheniite specimens from the Kudriavy volcano on Kuril Island off the east coast of Russia.  This was a one time, ephemeral find of this mineral formed around several active vents on the volcano.   When the discoverer returned to collect more specimens the volcano's heating system had vaporized the entire deposit.  All of the area where the mineral was abundant was totally barren of rheniite.  Subsequent trips to the site have proved futile also.  I bought all he had of this exceedingly rare mineral.

February 11th

Olmiite on Calcite from South Africa - South African dealer Paul Balayer showed up with the best new find at the show that I have seen. There has been a tsunami of olmiite specimens made available over the past two years since it was described as a new species two years ago.  Paul has consistently had the best specimens of these available at the Munich Show and anywhere else he sets up.  Bruce had said in his email that Paul had recovered the entire contents of a series of pockets at the N'Chwaning mine (they were recovered just before Christmas about six to seven weeks ago) containing pinkish salmon colored olmiite associated with water clear, calcite.  The pockets were found after blasting at the mine (tragically, this resulted in many of the calcite crystals being cleaved at the tips...).  Many of the calcite crystals have faintly defined phantoms also. This is the first time that water clear calcite in large crystals has ever been found in association with olmiite/poldervaartite series.  Well Paul arrived very late on February 8th or, I guess it was actually very early on February 9th and I made arrangements to see him later in the morning of the 9th.  My eyes popped when I saw these.  The olmiite is associated with what appears to be optical grade calcite in scalenohedron habit.  The calcite is second generation as the clearer calcite frequently is found as a cast of larger calcite either dissolved away or still present as a much more opaque core. There were also several large hemispherical specimens found - all with brilliant luster. I made a substantial pick of the 200 or so specimens which comprise the entire find and will have them posted in a day or two.  You can find Paul in room 270 at the Inn Suites. He will be there till the end of the show on February 14th.  Paul can also be reached via cell phone at: 520-822-7394.  I believe that these are some of the more interesting new material here in Tucson.

February 6th

Etched Fluorite from Namibia - Scott Werschly had some interesting specimens of fluorite from the Erongo Moutains in Namibia.  When has anyone ever seen what looks like a scepter fluorite??? Scott obtained the entire lot of fluorite from another dealer.  The entire pocket contained about 120 of these remarkably uniform sized specimens. All are floaters of etched fluorite with an octahedral cap on a small greenish hued stem.  Scott allowed me to pick from the entire group. I selected for uniformity and symmetry.  I received a note from Dr. Bruce Cairncross regarding these specimens on February 8th that I think is important to add here:

"They're actually not scepters ……. They are the corroded remnants of octahedrons that have been etched away leaving a stalk of fluorite with the residual corner of the original crystal mimicking a sceptre. And as a strange coincidence, John White has an article on this exact phenomenon in one of the latest Rocks & Minerals issues. He features USA fluorites that show this structure, similar to the Erongo ones." 

February 6th

Gold from Nevada -  Alan Day of Mineral Exploration Services is out of Reno, Nevada.  I spent some time and money with Alan as he told me that he is now the owner of the Olinghouse mine.  If you are not familiar with this mine it has been active off and on for about 10-12 years. It was shut down not too long ago and Alan worked a deal to get it for specimen production.  He has been busy! He had close to 50 flats of mostly low end specimen with some visible gold and a few with A LOT of visible gold.  I bought one of the good ones.  The really good news though is that a large productive zone has been identified in the property and will, in time, produce substantial specimens of gold. It will be a while but it will happen.

February 6th

Tabular Indicolite from Afghanistan - Dudley Blauwet showed me a small lot of very odd indicolite specimens from Kokcha Valley, Badakhshan, Afghanistan. He obtained these on his most recent trip to Pakistan (I am still in awe of Dudley who is fearless in his travels. Given the political state of that part of the world and the rampant kidnappings which are happening there he still goes. Huevos man. Huevos!)  These specimens have deep indigo blue colored, tabular crystals set in a matrix of a micaceous mineral.  The crystals are doubly terminated with pyramidal forms.

February 5th

Creedite from Santa Eulalia, Mexico - John and Maryanne Fender have a large array of creedite from the classic West Camp, Santa Eulalia district in Chihuahua, Mexico. In the late 1990s I handled a large quantity of these from the F. John Barlow collection.  He had had the largest known available hoard of these though a larger one existed and it was finally released to the Fender's this year.  The specimens have the top violet color that made this the world's premier find of creedite.   They listed the mine as the Santo Domingo but there is no record of creedite ever having been found there before. It is likely that they came from the Potosi mine but West Camp is a commonly acknowledged locality for this find.  This is your last chance to get one of these unless a collection gets recycled.

February 5th

Alkali Silicon Hexafluoride from Florida - Prior to the show I received a note from Isaias Casanova about some weird new compound (it is not clear that it is a mineral yet) from the Bone Valley Phosphate District near Bartow, Polk County, Florida.  For now they are known by their chemical name: Alkali Silicon Hexafluoride. The chemical formula is: (Na,K)2SiF6 .  Tony Kampf, John Attard and folks from the Florida Geological Survey have been helping Isaias with the chemistry with this odd material, which is not an evaporite.  It is a precipitate as a result of the mining activity.  While I was initially luke warm to these after seeing them I felt compelled to get a few for an update. A lot of people have bought these and the Mineralogical Record will be reporting on them as something new in minerals.  Frequently mineral specimens are sold which have formed after disturbance caused by human activity.  For instance chalcanthite is frequently sold as mineral specimens which were formed in mine tunnels.  It is indeed a gray area but most people are finding these quite appealing. They are really quite striking actually...The two pictures below better define this new material.

February 5th

Sulfides from Bulgaria - Alexandar Dikov's had numerous specimens from mines in the Madan area of galena, sphalerite and chalcopyrite.  I focused on looking for the odd crystal habits are interesting association pieces and came up with a half dozen fine specimens of lead and zinc ore.

February 5th

New Find Seligmannite from Peru - Jaroslav Hyrsl had a new find of seligmannite crystals set primarily on etched galena crystals.  Sphalerite is also associated with some the specimens. These come from the Palomo Mine, Huancavelica Dept., Peru.  Seligmannite is the arsenic analog of the antimony rich mineral bournonite.  The chemical formula is: PbCuAsS3.  The crystals are small at 1 to 2 mm at most but they are quite rich on these specimens.

February 5th

New Find Sphalerite from Peru - Jaroslav Hyrsl had specimens of sphalerite with two generations. The final phase is gemmy lime green crystals with brilliant luster for the most part.

February 5th

New Find Scheelite & Quartz from Peru - Jaroslav Hyrsl had several scheelite and quartz specimens from Tamboras, La Libertad, Peru.  Recall that Luis Miguel Burillos also had these also.  I was able to get two specimens that were reasonably priced from Jaroslav.

February 2nd

New Find Magenta Topaz from Brazil -   Brazilian dealer Luiz Menezes had the lion's share of these at the show. The topaz is found on quartz from Brumado, Bahia, Brazil.  Topaz has been found there in the past as dull orange or colorless crystals but never in this rich magenta color.  The locality is the same as where the uvite and magnesite material has come from in the past.  Several of the specimens have a magnesite association as well.  Precious few crystals exceed 1 cm in length unfortunately but the color is intense in these even for such small crystals!  Luiz stated that only 75 +/- of these were recovered.  And as far he knows no one else has any here at Tucson other than a few with Jeff Fast. I bought ten specimens in all from Luiz.

February 2nd

Blue Apatite from Brazil -   Brazilian dealer Luiz Menezes had some of the deepest indigo blue apatite specimens I have seen for some time from Golconda District, Governador Valdares in Minas Gerais, Brazil. All of the specimens he had were miniatures to large thumbnails.  They are found on one or all of the following matrix combinations: cookeite, muscovite and microcline.  Luiz explained to me that the specimens were found around 1990 and hoarded by the miner. Luiz just obtained them this past fall and made them available for Tucson.  I bought all five that he had.

February 2nd

Inesite from Wessels Mine -    Clive Queit's shop at the Top Gem wholesale area had a small hoard of inesite from the Wessels mine in South Africa. These things are very seldom seen and have not been found in quantity for many years.  Clive has a stash that he dribbles a few out of, it seems, now and then. 

January 29th

New Find Pearceite from Peru -   Spanish dealer Luis Burillo has consistently managed to bring some very high quality material to every show I see him at.  This year is no exception.  He has several things to report on.  First are some of the best crystals of pearceite I have seen for a very long time!  These come from the famous Uchucchacua mine, Oyon, Lima, Peru.  Pearceite which is an uncommon silver bearing mineral, was originally thought to be an arsenic analogue of polybasite. Now it is considered a polytype of arsenopolybasite. All were thumbnail specimens only and a few were associated with pyrargyite.  These crystals are brilliantly lustrous.

January 29th

New Find Calcite from India -   I always head straight to Mineral Decor to see what Dr. Merchant and his wife Priah have found.  As with most of the planet not much new but he had some very unusual specimens of calcite from Jalgaon.  Usually calcite fails to hit my radar but these gemmy crystals associated with stilbite required a second look.  The crystals were evidently fractured while under ground eons ago and then most likely swept up in mineralizing fluids that precipitated the zeoilites.  Well the fractures were completely healed with secondary calcite mineralization.  I checked these under the scope and they are 100% crystal faces.  Dr. Merchant had four total and I bought three specimens as Mike Bergman had been there just moments before me and bought one.   I showed these to Victor Yount (aka as Mr. Calcite). He initially thought them to be cleaved also but agreed on the whole rehealed nature of these after viewing them through a hand lense.

January 29th

Heulandite from Idaho -   One of the first dealers who sets up first is John Cornish from Idaho.  John digs at the Rat's Nest Claim in Custer County, Idaho.  He recovers gorgeous specimens of salmon colored heulandite and snow white mordenite.  For the past several years I have tended to bypass these but this year John has an especially high quality group of specimens of rich salmon color.  Heulandite is not particularly important in the mineral world but the material John offers is likely some of the best heulandite to be found anywhere from North America.

 

January 27th

Silver from Kongsberg -  Prior to the Tucson Show I was contacted by someone who had a large hoard of silver specimens from one of the older and more famous workings at Kongsberg.  The Gottes Hulfe in der Noth mine was opened in the 1600s and more or less shut down in the mid 1900s.  Some intrepid souls decided on putting forth an effort to recover specimens from that mine and located a mineralized zone at the 210 meter level in 1991. All of these specimens are from that find.  There are many specimen of leaf silver, dendritic (referred to as Herring Bone), massive and many have associations with fluorite, acanthite sphalerite, pyrargyrite and other sulfides.   Click any of the buttons to see the specimens.

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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