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



 

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Updated February 14, 2011

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Specimens from this show will be shipped after February 16th.
 

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This link will take you to the specimens listed from $2500 and Up. This category will be updated regularly! 
This link will take you to the specimens listed from $1000 to $2500.   This category will be updated regularly! 
This link will take you to specimens listed from $500 to $1000.  This category will be updated regularly
Lazurite after Plagioclase ?

February 14th  - New Find

Pseudomorphs from Afghanistan    Dudley Blauwet has to be the most intrepid soul in the mineral business. This guy is still going to the world's leading hot bed known as the middle east - Pakistan and Afghanistan!  Anyway, as usual, he has something totally new to the mineral world. This time it they lazurite after plagioclase specimens... everyone thinks... The work on these is still being done and it may be that the original crystals were hauyne replaced by feldspar then that was in turn replaced by lazurite.These will require some more work to nail down more precisely but for now they are being called lazurite after plagioclase. The replacement is only partial which is quite unusual as far as anyone who's had an interest in pseudomorphs will attest. They come from Lajuar Madan, Sar-e-Sang District, Badakhshan, Afghanistan. Dudley had a dozen or so of these so I grabbed the three best small specimens with sharp defined crystal faces. When I asked Dudley about the pricing of these he looked and said two words: Pakistan and Afghanistan... Got it! ;^) 


Malachite & Pyromorphite

February 11th  - New Find

Pyromorphite from Australia      Prior to the Tucson Show I had heard from an old friend Paul Melville about a new find of pyromorphite on malachite from the Brown's prospect, Rum Jungle, Northern Territory, Australia.  In terms of something that is new in Tucson this material is probably among the top three new things here.  There are several tones of malachite with bright yellowish green pyromorphite crystals and the eye appeal is way up there! The most common shade for the malachite is dark green, the turquoise and rich pine green colors of malachite are by a couple orders of magnitude the rarest. The average size is about 5-6 cm across but there are some larger cabinet pieces up to 20 cm across. Specimens over 8 cm across were numbered in the few dozens. Dave Rosewall and Paul had these in the Minerals Of Arizona booth at the main show and as soon as they started to put them out people congregated to get a better look.  The two tones of green are mesmerizing.  I am just pleased as can be that Trica, Paul and Dave gave me an opportunity to gather some of these ahead of time to offer you. I was not bashful about getting as many of these in pristine condition as I could. This is likely a one time find as Dave, geologist at the prospect, told me that the company is close to ready to start a large open pit copper mine and when that happens this small oxidation zone deposit will be cast aside and destroyed to go after the "ore".   Get 'um while you can!


Malachite & Wulfenite

February 8th  - New Find

Wulfenite from Namibia     Marshall Sussman  had a single flat of these interesting specimens of wulfenite from the Onderra mine in Koakaveld, Namibia.  The wulfenite has been naturally moderately to lightly etched in situ and ranges in color for orange to bright lemon yellow. 


Chalcopyrite on Sphalerite

February 8th 

Sphalerite & Chalopyrite from Russia     Igor Mikhailov at the Quality Inn. These are etched sphalerite floaters with epitaxial chalcopyrite from Dal'Negorsk, Primorskiy Kray, Russia.  They are likely not new to the mineral world but I found them to be fascinating and picked up a small group for this update.


Tunellite

February 8th  - New Find

Tunellite from California      Marus Origlieri and UK Mining Ventures had a good supply of tunellite specimens from the Kramer Boron deposits in Kern County, California.  This new find represents some of the best of the strontium borate species ever found in terms of crystal size and quality. 


Chrome Lawsonite
 

February 8th  - New Find

Chrome Lawsonite from Greece     German dealer Gunnar Farber had something I had not seen or even heard of before - chrome lawsonite from Cape Marmari, Syros Island, Greece! The crystals were formed in the schist host rock so the only way to reveal the crystals is to mechanically remove the encasing schist. The crystals are naturally rounded (typical for crystals encased in schist) but the form is readily visible and they range in color from dark pine green to a lighter shade of pistachio green. Lawsonite from California has been found as colorless, cream, light pink and blue colors. This green color is new to me.


Rutile var. Struverite

February 8th  - New Find

Rutile var. Struverite from Brazil Greece  Brazilan dealer Luiz Menezes had some new specimens of rutile var. struverite. Struverote was discredited as a mineral specimens several years ago but when the oxides of Niobium and tantalum content reached 30% the color and texture of rutile changes to more of a metallic mineral.


Jeremejevite

February 5th  - New Find

Jeremejevite on Tourmaline Matrix   Marshall Sussman  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.  


Kunzite

February 5th  - New Find

Kunzite from San Diego Co., California     There has been some serious digging in San Diego county in the vicinity of Pala at the Oceanview mine.  A prolific quantity of kunzite is being found. Most is of marginal quality but they are finding some gorgeous specimens and facetable crystals with blue to violet to green hues.  Mark Mauthner is in charge of marketing specimens here in Tucson and I spent an hour making a small selection of choice specimens from this active California locality. One important feature to note about these crystals is that if they are exposed to sunlight for any length of time the color will change to pink. It is a nice pink color but to maintain the original hues these must not be displayed in open cases or they will change to a rich pink color. These were all dug out in December, 2010.


Muscovite ps. Tourmaline

February 5th  - New Find

Muscovite ps. after Tourmaline  Brazilian dealer Luiz Menezes had 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.


Fluorite

February 5th

Spinel Law twinned fluorite from Naica.   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 this update.


Ettringite
 
Clinoclase & Liroconite
Mixed minerals from Tucson.
 
Gold

January 30th  - New Find

Crystallized gold from Siskiyou County, California    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.


Elbaite & Quartz

January 26th 

Elbaite from the Himalaya mine.   Here's a small hoard I picked up. Specimens consists of small matrix pieces and single crystals.


Pyromorphite from China

Mimetite from England

January 25th 


Mixed Specimens from the Dr. Joan Massagué Collection -  Here's a very interesting group of varied minerals recently released from the collection of Dr. Joan Massagué.  Joan is a cancer researcher in a premier research center in New York City. I have had the distinct pleasure of visiting Joan twice in New York City to see his collection.  It is clear that his specimens have been selected carefully over a long period with rarity, quality, and scientific significance as his primary criteria. The present dispersal of specimens in his collection reflects, in part, an evolution of his interests and focus towards fewer suites and themes.

 
Chondrodite from New York

Pyromorphite from Idaho

January 25th 


Carter Rich (left)


Mixed Specimens from Carter Rich -  You may be aware that Virginia dealer Carter Rich has retired from doing shows a few years ago.  He still has a deep inventory of minerals and this past year he and I agreed to start listing them in a systematic fashion.  On my way home from Munich I stopped there for two days to see what he had lurking in the storage area and came away with this first group.  A lot of very interesting diversity and some great classics too! 

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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