This Democratic Republic of Congo Update features fine azurites from a new find at Kibwi, an excellent primary malachite from the Tantara Mine and deep pink cobaltoan calcite from Kolwesi.

This Brazil Update features a few selected excellent pieces from Brazil, from the unusual to the amazing. The update includes two remarkable brazilianite specimens from the closed Telirio Mine, a classic Medina aquamarine, a fantastic rutilated quartz from Novo Horizonte, tourmalines, Sapo fluorapatites, a super Brumado dolomite, blue quartz, and a Novo Horizonte hematite that is a black mirror.

There is a great new book out, Crystal Mountains – Minerals of the Cairngorms, by Roy Starkey. This post offers a glimpse (including photos by the author) and a few thoughts about this fine work.

Excellent new goethite crystal groups, recently mined from a pocket in the chamber pegmatites at Volodarsk-Volynskii, Ukraine.

This Howlite Update features specimens that are remarkable for the species. Howlite is only known as crystals from this one locality worldwide – Lake Bras D’Or, Iona, Nova Scotia. The specimens in this update are super for the locality and represent selected top pieces collected over a period from 2001 to 2012 – they were acquired as part of the collection of well-known Canadian collector Terry Collett.

This Acanthite Update features excellent specimens of well-crystallized acanthite (pseudomorphs after argentite) from the Imiter Mine, in Ouarzazate Province, Morocco. The finds at Imiter in recent years have placed it among the world’s best ever localities for crystallized acanthite.

If you’ve ever wondered about mineral shows as they used to be, the smaller-town affairs meant for everyone, from serious collectors to beginners and families, the Bancroft Shows offer a glimpse. There is a lot to be said for this kinds of mineral show, in a beautiful setting among scenery and wildlife, with guided field trips, local collectors and dealers, and some great minerals.

This Morocco Update is dedicated to a small group of specimens of the recent blue barite crystals from the Sidi Lahcen Mine, Nador, Morocco. These are beautiful, sharp, highly lustrous crystals of excellent quality.

A small number of excellent French specimens have been added in this France Update, including beautiful groups of sharp hematite crystals from the Brézouard Massif, in the hills adjacent to Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines. There are also fine specimens of bournonite from Les Malines District, Saint-Laurent-le-Minier, Gard, and a very nice faden quartz from the French Alps.

The new Bancroft Gem and Mineral Club Mineral Museum is open, housed in the recently-restored historic Bancroft Train Station. When you come to Bancroft and want to learn about local minerals, this is where to start! I’ve added a post with a few photographs – we hope to see you in Bancroft soon!

Beautiful new specimens from Mali, featuring yellow balls of stilbite crystals from Diamonkara, a new find. The Diamonkara workings are in the same general vicinity of the Arrondissement Diako which has produced the now well-known specimens of prehnite and epidote. Also new among these specimens is an exceptionally fine prehnite on epidote.

Beautiful new dioptase specimens from Mindouli, Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) – these were mined very recently and arrived in Europe a few days before Sainte-Marie. Sharp, lustrous and of course, wonderful green, these dioptase specimens are now posted under Dioptase – July 2014 Update.