I’ve added a group of diverse minerals in this Peru Update. I have selected these out over various trips – each is a beautiful specimen for the mineral! This update includes a gorgeous rhodonite from Chiurucu, a brilliant alabandite, a super specimen of bournonite cogwheel twins on matrix, a specimen of scheelite coated with bright green stolzite, fluorescent fluorapatites and more.

Although arrivals in Rochester were initially greeted by lingering recent snow, with winter’s last breath still upon us, a few signs of spring were beginning to show in this part of the world. And yet once the mineral fun starts, who cares what the weather is doing? [Note to Mother Nature: that is not a dare for next year’s Symposium. I mean unless you want to rain fine mineral specimens.] This post is all about this year’s super Rochester Mineralogical Symposium.

Excellent specimens from travels in Peru, including a trip to the Quiruvilca Mine. This Peru Update features barite, hubnerite/quartz, epidote, a great pearceite, pyrite and more. I hope you’ll find them interesting. If you are curious about Quiruvilca and what it is like to be searching for crystal specimens at the mine, have a look […]

High in the Andes, Southern Peaks Mining operates one of Peru’s most famous historical mines, the Quiruvilca Mine. Quiruvilca is one of Peru’s most important mineral specimen producing localities. I was invited to go to Quiruvilca, resulting in an adventure that included some amazing time underground to explore the sulfide veins as they were being mined.