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
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Tucson 2010 Report 5

I have been having fits with my local Internet provider the past 3 days.  I can download data but have been unable until today to move data from my laptop to the website.  When you're a web based operations this is akin to walking through the Valley of Darkness... Anyway I am back in the saddle with the web uploads.

There were a few days between the end of the Westward Look and the start up of the main show at the Convention Center. First to note here was my visit with South African mineral supplier Paul Balayer.  Paul has been working the N'Chwaning II mine for specimens of olmiite for the past several years as well as other minerals from this mine.  He also starting to work with Desmond Sacco, who has the finest collection of southern African minerals in the world from places like Tsumeb, Kuruman, Kombat, Onganja, and so on, in de accessioning specimens.  Don't get too excited just yet - Desmond will be keeping the best material in his collection but he has numerous extras that are clearly redundant to his collection and Paul will be helping him in moving that material.  So we arranged to meet at his room and see the new olmiite specimens and also a small hoard of ettringite specimens from N'Chwaning.   Paul's olmiites are much different that those that have been available in the past.  His latest find, from October, has individual crystals instead of the more commonly seen round ball clusters or the aggregated crystals which make it hard to see just what the crystal form is.  I ended up purchasing the small lot of lemon yellow ettringite shown here, a smoking TN specimen of the rare mineral shigaite, and a flat of the miniatures of the new find of olmiite.  The olmiite is also a strong color changer going from dull brown in sunlight to bright fleshy pink color in indoor lighting.  The luster on them is exceptional!  


A group of miniature and TN ettringite specimens formerly in the Sacco Collection.


A 1 cm shigaite set against a barite crystal on rhodochrosite.

A 7 cm specimen of calcite hosting olmiite crystals to 1 cm. One of my best it is available for $750.
 
Here are photos from the best of the find. They are available from Paul.  If you're interested let me know and I will pass the word along to him. My specimens will be priced between $150 and $750 for comparison.

A 10 cm specimen with four crystals of olmiite over 1.5 cm across. $4000.

A 15-17 cm specimen with numerous, evenly distributed crystals of olmiite. $6000. 

The finest specimen from the find this piece stands upright unsupported and has two crystals almost 2 cm across.
This is the best specimen of olmiite on the market according to the guy who dug them. $12000.
The video below is of the above specimen.
 

The pool at the Inn Suites was finally filled this past week and the BBQ was filling the courtyard with the smell of burnt grease.

Reno Nevada dealer Alan Day finally pulled into town and Alan had a nice group of gold from the Olinghouse mine available.  Alan is in the process of working this mine for specimen and melt gold. So there should be a good supply of this material for the short-term future. I managed to get two flats of TNs and miniatures from Alan.


The pool at the Inn Suites was finally filled this past week and the BBQ was filling the courtyard with the smell of burnt grease.

This past Tuesday evening Wayne & Dona Leicht and Ian Bruce had there annual Tucson party.  This year they moved from a magnificent place to a place that is even more magnificent!  It was a steep climb up the driveway but my gosh the view from up there!!  The theme this year was Mardi Gras so everyone was handed a mask and sets of beads.  It is pure coincidence that the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl and that enhanced the mood quite a bit.  It was well attended and everyone I have talked to since says it was two thumbs up!


A panning shot at the party with Jeff Scovil, Christophe Gobin, Alain Martaud,
Jesse Fisher, Ian Bruce, Herb Obodda and Skip Szenics in the scene. Turn the volume down before playing it.


Herb and Moni Obodda getting with the program! Jeff Scovil has his eyes on the food...
 

Hostess Dona Leicht with beads that were blinking lights.
 
 
The next day was set up day at the main show.  Probably the last chance to report on something new here in Tucson.  It was raining again this day but once all the stuff was inside it was on with the show.
 
 
 

Bringing flats in, arranging minerals, setting up cases... work work work.
 
 

Rob, of Collector's Edge, jokingly said they were going to install floor mats so people could recline and see the minerals...
 
 

Spanish dealer Luis Burillo and his wife setting up the cases and placing minerals out.
 
 
I saw one of the new olmiite specimens from Paul Balayer out also on a dealer's shelf.  This is about 4.5 cm in height.
 
 
 

Connecticut collector Nick Skirkanich finally doing some real work in his life helping out in Scott Werschky's booth.
 

Dave Bunk on the far right getting the case in place with help from Scott Werschky whose leg is visible. 
George Witters is installing lights in the back. Don't even ask what Tom Hughes is doing in the blue shirt.
 
There is always someone who regularly beats the bushes for new things and Dudley Blauwet is the person I am thinking of. Dudley recently returned from a trip to Pakistan (I can't believe anyone from the US travels there for fun and business but Dudley still does.).  He has a new find of wulfenite from a prospect in the Kharan Mountains, Baluchistan, Pakistan.  This is the same locality as the brookites that became available 5-7  years ago.  Bright lemon yellow crystals frequently associated with chrysocola and or malachite but mostly found in gossan.
 


Crystals of wulfenite to 0.8 cm on this specimen from Pakistan.

 
Dudley also had some very good and reasonably priced specimens of the gem sodalites from Lajur Madan, Sar-e-Sang, Badakhshan, Afghanistan.  The crystals are small but they are gemmy and a few have a strange association with manganese rich wurtzite according to Dudley. I gathered up a few specimens of both the wulfenite and sodalite and will post them in the final Tucson Show update.
 
 

A 4.5 cm specimen of the new sodalite with the Mn-rich wurtzite.
 
 

Here's Evan Jones booth with Marc Mitterman.
 

Here's Herb Obodda digging through Francois Lietard's Keystone specimens.  Herb said it was more
practical to buy from Francois than endure the 17 hour flight and inherent danger of going to Pakistan.
British dealer Sara Giller is helping Francois out this year in Tucson.
 

I saw this enormous and weird shaped copper with Cal Graeber.
 
 
Cal also had this set of azurite stalactites from Morenci in his case.
 
 

My version of the Holy Grail... I might be tempted to break of few of the 10 Commandments if I could get my hands on this thing...
just tempted mind you...
 
 
More from the Main Show in the next few days and now that my ISP is back in line a large update of new Tucson Show specimens as soon as I can get it done. 


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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