Emery (2005-2017) was an amazing guy. He was our great dog (Labrador Retriever), and he was also a founding member of McDougall Minerals, shaping every day out here. This post gives a glimpse into his strong personality, and some of the fun and laughter he brought us.

I’ve added excellent new specimens from Cape Split in this Nova Scotia Update. Over the past three years, a pocket system at Cape Split has sporadically yielded excellent, distinctive specimens of several minerals, most notably the groups and hemispheres (and even balls) of natrolite crystals, associated with sharp analcime crystals, and lustrous brownish stilbite crystals. This group of specimens represents some of the nicest pieces recovered from these finds.

I’ve posted some great chabazite specimens from Wasson’s Bluff in this Nova Scotia Update. This is the classic Canadian locality for chabazite, including the deep-coloured ones that were once known as “acadialite”, and many of the specimens in this update are this colour (there are also very fine cabinet specimens of the nice mid-orange colour.)

I’ve added some great new spodumene crystals in this Afghanistan Spodumene Update. These spodumene crystals are from a 2017 pocket that produced colour-zoned (lilac/pink – pale green – colourless) crystals, along with some specimens that were purely lilac/pink and some that had no such hues at all.

I’ve posted fun new specimens in this Mali Update. This update features particularly good clinochlore crystals, and also specimens of prehnite, grossular and andradite specimens, with some distinctive finds and a couple of unusual Mali localities.

I’ve added a small number of excellent hematite specimens in this France Hematite Update. I’ve had a few of these in the past, and have managed to obtain a few more. These hematites were excavated from a deposit in the hills just above the town of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines.

I’ve posted some wonderful new zircon crystals in this Pakistan Red Zircon Update. These are from a new find of red zircons from the Astor Valley, in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan.

In the heart of France’s Vosges Mountains, each June, Mineral World assembles at Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, for what is always a great mineral show. This post gives a glimpse of some of this year’s finds, including gorgeous red zircon crystals, bi-coloured spodumene, clinochlore crystals and some classic French hematites from just outside of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines.

The Rochester Mineralogical Symposium is one of the best annual events in Mineral World. This post about RMS 2017 includes lots of great mineral photographs, with many from prominent mineral photographers Jeff Scovil and Michael Bainbridge. And hopefully, if you missed this year’s RMS, this will help you catch up – and plan for next year…

Great new specimens from the United States feature in this US Update. Wulfenites from the Red Cloud Mine, a Kelly Mine smithsonite, a Colorado amazonite, excellent ramsdellite specimens, a beautiful specimen hosting covellite crystals, and more.

I’ve added some super specimens from Mount Malosa in this new Malawi Update. These include excellent crystals of aegirine, arfvedsonite, smoky quartz with epididymite inclusions, microcline and zircon. Under shortwave ultraviolet light, the microcline is a striking deep pink-red colour, and the zircons exhibit various hues of yellow.

I’ve posted some great new specimens in this Peru Update. These include hubnerite, alabandite, clinoatacamite, quartz/chrysocolla, chalcopyrite, spinel-twinned galena, proustite and top quality pyrite. Some of these were collected recently and some go back a few years.