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.

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…

The new Brazil Update on the website features a mix of excellent specimens from Brazil, including spessartine, rutile, struverite-ilmenorutile, alexandrite, montebrasite, brazilianite, kunzite and more.

In this France Update, I am including the first of the specimens from the 2015 Ste. Marie Show. Despite the host country, the show is truly not full of French mineral specimens, given their relative scarcity, and the ones that are there are highly prized. Nonetheless, I was able to acquire a few excellent French pieces.

The annual mineral show at Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines is so different from all others. Sure, we all love the large exciting mineral-filled halls and general mineral mayhem of the large shows, and the hotel shows in Tucson and Denver. But Ste Marie’s character and charm, from the theatre and the tent-lined streets within the show, to the town and the countryside beyond, make this an experience not to be missed.

New from South Africa, excellent specimens of inesite from a small recent find, a fantastic ettringite/hematite specimen, and gorgeous green fluorites from Riemvasmaak.

This South-Africa – Kenya Update includes a small number of excellent specimens. From South Africa, there are beautiful complex hematite crystals from the N’Chwaning II Mine. And from Kenya, there is a small group of the superb epidotes from Pakot, North Eastern Province, from the 2002 find.

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.

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.

Nestled in the Val d’Argent, in Alsace, France, the town of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines hosts one of the world’s largest minerals shows, with character and class unto itself. I’ve added this post to give a glimpse into finds and highlights from Sainte-Marie 2014.

This Brazil update contains some brilliant specimens. Two matrix fluorapatites, in purple and blue, are really special! Two exquisite hematite iron roses – one is a great old-timer. The elbaite tourmalines and other fine minerals are excellent with lots of character, so I hope you’ll enjoy looking through them.