Riverside County, California - February 2013 - photo by John Veevaert
John Veevaert    6152 Mia Vista Dr., Reno Nevada  USA  (888) 689-8402



 

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Show Reports
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Tucson 2016
 
We arrived here in Tucson on January 26th.  The drive from Reno, Nevada is about 400 miles shorter than the drive from Weaverville and it is actually quite scenic along Hwy 95 which runs along western Nevada. 
 
Below are a few scenes along the way. 
 

My Subaru in my driveway in Reno.   It was 22 degrees that morning... But I am loaded up and ready to roll!
 
 

A train on the road to Fallon.  We actually had to drive east for 40 miles before heading south.
 
 

The traffic was insane south of Fallon, Nevada on Highway 95.
 
 
 

Another traffic jam just north of Hawthorne, Nevada.
 
.

Just in the clouds is Boundary Peak in the northern White Mountains.  At 13,146 feet
it is the tallest peak in Nevada and just a few hundred yards from the California border.
 
 

The busy intersection of Hwy 95 and Hwy 6.
 
 
 

Bustling downtown Tonopah, Nevada. 
 
 
 

It was bumper to bumper between Tonopah, Nevada and Goldfield, Nevada.

 

More open highway at the northern end of the Amargosa Valley.

 


Steeply dipping sedimentary rocks north of Indian Springs, Nevada.

 


South of Indian Springs, Nevada.


A view of the Colorado River just down stream of Hoover Dam.

 


Kingman, Arizona dead ahead.

 


Between Kingman and Wickiup, Arizona .

 


A sure sign that we're in the Sonoran Desert - Saguaro Cactus!

 

Okay - the road trip is over and we're in Tucson.  I heard from some people that a few dealers arrived shortly after January 1st and were set up during the first week of January!  That is hard to believe that people want to spend that much time and money in a hotel room here in Tucson.  Don't get me wrong - There is no where else I would rather be this time of year than Tucson but some of these guys will be spending thousands of dollars on hotel bills....

The Tucson City Center Hotel (Inn Suites) was bought out by a new group and I have to say that the property has been neglected.  The gorgeous grass that filled the grounds between the buildings has been allowed to die and a lot of the dealers were experiencing problems with leaky pipes, wet rugs, poor internet service and just a general feeling that the place is on its last legs.  Compare the photos from last year to this year:


2016


2015

 

Sad... Okay, that said here is some information on minerals.

First is a recent find of amethyst from California.  Tehachapi, California dealer John Seibel had specimen of amthyst from the Kingston Range in San Bernardino Co., California.  The color is no where near as intense as many other localities but there are precious few localities for amethyst from California.  Most have a thin outer zone of smoky quartz over the amtheyst. The crystals are well formed and aesthetic overall.


A 7 cm specimen of California amethyst.

Spanish dealer Luis Burillo is always one of the first dealers set up at the Inn Suites.  His mineral specimens are well prepped and clean.  He had a new find of wulfenite from the Jianshan Mine, Xinjihang, China.  The crystals are deep orangish brown, delicate and finely crystallized.  His prices were a bit steep so I passed on getting any but they are certainly worth noting here.


Several specimens of the new wulfenite from China.

Luis also had some very nice specimens of Demantoid from Belqeys Mountain, West Azarbaijian Province, Iran.  I picked up two specimens with perfect dark green crystals.  The crystal forms are a combination of trapezoid and dodecahedrons.


1.4 cm crystal of demantoid from Iran.

 

Rick Kennedy dredged up some old specimens of carpathite from Picacho Peak that he had buried away from a trip to San Benito County years ago.   Carpthite is an organic mineral comprised of carbon and hydrogen.  Its forumla is: C24H12.  It is also insanely fluorescent under SW UV light.  Frequently found with the carpathite are minute crystals of cinnabar. ALL of the carpathite is encased in secondary quartz so the only way to see this bright canary yellow mineral is to bust it up.


6 cm specimen in room light and under SW UV light.

 

I am always looking for a way to poke fun at one of the truly great personalities in this business and the owner of that personality is Spanish dealer Jordi Fabre.  He thought he could find respite in the shade and enjoy his lunch.  No chance.  Gotcha Jordi!

 

 

UK Mining ventures has announced an end to the Rogerley mine fluorite production and they had quite a herd of folks waiting to pounce on this champagne edition of specimens.  I had the chance to see Jesse Fisher back in December and picked up some nice specimens for an update then.  Jesse told me yesterday, January 30th, that they essentially sold out of all their specimens.  It has been quite a run for them the past 15-16 years but it is over.


The crowd of people waiting to get in at 5:30 PM January 29th..

Czech Republic dealer KARP always has a fine array of minerals to choose from.  But this time I decided on some very fine specimens of uvarovite from Sarany near Per'm, Central Ural Mts in Russia.  This is not a new find but the quality was very good so I picked up a small hoard.   


a 2.5 cm specimen of uvalovite from Russia.

Okay, this is just my first whack at what is happening and new here in Tucson.  Lots more to come over the next two 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)
East Coast Show
Munich Show

2014
Tucson Show
Denver Show 

Munich Show

2015
Tucson Show
East Coast Show
Denver Show 
Munich Show

 
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