KOFA National Wildlife Refuge - February 2010 - photo by John Veevaert
John Veevaert    PO BOX 2182   Weaverville, California  96093  USA  (888) 689-8402



 

Return to the 2011 Tucson Show Homepage  

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

 

 
 
 

Tucson 2011 Report 1

I have been here in Tucson since the 23rd of January.  The drive down took three days due to a new friend in my life called a slipped disk in my back.  Just one of the several maladies for my life to adjust to after falling from a ladder on November 16th...  This year I drove through Reno and down Hwy 395 to avoid the hassles of passing through the LA basin.  I spent the first night in Carson City and have, up until this time, always enjoyed viewing the "Million Dollar Gold Collection" that was on display at the Carson City Nugget Casino.  All of the specimens were from the gold fields of the Mother Lode in California. My first viewing of this collection was in 1978 and I was BLOWN AWAY by it. Alas, it is now gone, having been sold recently.  I have no idea where it ended up or if it was even kept together.  Here are a few pictures of just a handful of specimens from the collection the last time I was there in March of 2010.  I am glad I had the chance to leave my nose prints on the glass at least a dozen times over the years before it was sold.....

The rest of the trip down HWY 395 is simply the best way to go if you have time and want splendid scenery.   Taking I-5 or US 99 can suck the life out of your soul...  Anyway, my second night was in Ridgecrest.  The next day I was to stop and see Cal Graeber in Fallbrook.

Entering the busiest intersection on HWY 395 - Kramer Junction


Once I got on I-15 headed south I had a good view of the San Andreas Fault zone.
The mountains in the back ground are riding on the Pacific Plate and I am on the edge of the North American Plate.
 

About 20 miles west of Tucson I was startled to see a panel just decide to fall off from the inside of my Subaru.
I took the highway through Ajo to Tucson and have to say the place is crawling with Border Patrol agents and stops.
 
 

At one of the Border Patrol stops a "working" dog evidently sniffed something in my car that was suspicious requiring a secondary "check".  That meant unpacking my car's entire contents while the dog took a whiff of everything.  In the end the agent said thank you for your cooperation and said I was free to go.  Yeah thanks.  About 45 minutes later I had the car repacked and was happy to have that dog in my rear view mirror.... Sometimes it feels like the USA is trending towards more of a police state than the land of the free... I digress.


A shot in the courtyard of the Inn Suites.  Please note the "terrible" weather we're enduring here....

Finally in Tucson after the long haul of 1350 miles.  Some dealers were open from my first days here but most were finally open on the 27th.  Fortunately, Marshall Sussman is always open for business at his home and I make the drive to his home in Oro Valley regularly.  He had quite a few interesting things to ponder and one that I was sorry I missed out on was a flat of 25 or so specimens of the rare hydrated calcium and manganese sulfate called Despujolsite.  Another dealer snaked them just a few days ahead of my visit via a phone call.  I know they won't be cheap but they are the best examples known of this rare mineral... Marshall also had specimens from a recent find of jeremejevite crystals on matrix. The matrix is apparently a new variety of tourmaline that is in the process of being described.  The jeremejevite crystals are all etched similar to kunzite crystals in pegmatite pockets and have deep lavender blue color.


A  5 x 4 cm specimen with a gemmy, etched crystal of jeremejevite 2 cm across.

He also had a flat of a recent find of wulfenite from Onderra, Kaokaveld in Namibia.  The wulfenite is orange to yellow in color and typically has a thick blocky habit. One had an appealing association with fibrous malachite. I bought the entire flat.


Two specimens from the Onderra find.
 
 
There is an upside to the rain with stunning views of Tucson and snow in the Catalina Mts.
Taken January 23rd.
 
At the Inn Suites (Hotel Tucson) I found Spanish dealer Luis Miguel Burillo with, as usual, a stunning array of minerals to ponder. What captured my eye were specimens of lavender blue spinel law twins from Naica, Chihauhua, Mexico.  I saw several of these a few years back that were quite pricey.  Luis' specimens were of equal and better quality than those I had seen in the past so I swooped on several for a future update.
 
 

A 4.5cm specimen of intergrown spinel law twinned fluorite crystals.
 
 

Brazilian dealer Luiz Menezes always has something of interest and this year I found two things get to specimens of. First is a group of rutile var. struverite crystals from the Golconda district, Govenador Valadares, Minas Gerais.  The term struverite, recently discredited as a species, is used when the oxides of niobium and tantalum exceed 30% of the crystal.  That is the case with these.
 

A 3.5 cm specimen of lustrous, intergrown crystals of rutile var. struverite.
 
 
 
Luiz also some remarkable pseudomorphs of muscovite after tourmaline from the Sapo mine, Conselheiro, Minas Gerias.  He had one large matrix specimen on a large baveno twinned feldspar and the rest were loose singes or groups.
 

The large matrix piece Luiz had.  Sold right away!
 

A 13 cm specimen of two adjoined tourmaline crystals completely replaced by muscovite.
 
 
 
Before leaving for Tucson I was in contact with a miner from Fort Jones, Siskiyou county, California that had made a new find of crystalline gold and fine matrix specimens with quartz crystals.  The locality is near Fort Jones and that is as close as it can be defined for now until the project is further developed.   The dominant habit for the crystals are octahedrons and as some remarkable stacked octahedral specimens.
 

A 3.1 x 2.3 cm specimen on the left and a 1.4 cm stack on the right.
 

A 3 cm leaf of crudely crystalline gold on crystals of quartz.
 
I also had a chance to see Marcus Origlieri who had mentioned to me a couple weeks ago that he had a stash of some of the best tunellite specimens seen for some time from the Kramer Boron deposits near the town of Boron in Kern County, California.  Many were cleaved but I found a group of complete floater crystals - some with attached ulexite.  These are really some of the best of this species I have ever seen. The largest known crystal is 10 cm across and many of these are in the same realm size wise. Tunellite is a strontium borate and quite stable.
 

A 6.5 cm crystal of tunellite with some attached ulexite.
 
 
Marcus also mentioned that the University of Arizona is actively deaccesioning specimens to sell in an effort to raise 3.5 million dollars.  They have a commitment from a benefactor for matching funds if they can get to 1.5 million over time. The sale of specimens is being handled by Marcus.  The museum will keep intact the core of its collection - especially as it relates to the specimens from Arizona.
 
Ok, this is the first taste of what's new here in Tucson.  Much more to come over the next couple weeks. 


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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