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.

Great specimens in this Mexico Update. Excellent sharp, light green datolite crystals from Charcas, Mexico – these are super! This Mexico update also includes fine danburite crystals and some beautiful amethyst crystal specimens from Piedra Parada.

This Pakistan-Afghanistan Update features selected fine specimens from Pakistan and Afghanistan, including excellent red zircons, a specimen of ilmenite rosettes, a transparent epidote, a beautiful large cluster of aquamarine crystals, a super diopside miniature, elbaite and more.

The specimens in this Gmelinite Update are sharp, brilliantly lustrous crystals of gmelinite after chabazite from the classic locality Pinnacle Rock, Five Islands, Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, Canada. These are from some of the top finds at the locality and are super for the species, from any locality. The crystal growth patterns on these are exquisite.

This Magnesiofoitite Tourmaline Update features crystals of magnesiofoitite that are simply amazing for the species. These crystals are from a large collapsed pocket in Tsitondroina Commune, in the Ikalamavony District, Matsiatra Region, Fianarantsoa Province, Madagascar. Sharp and lustrous, with somewhat varied crystal habits, these crystals comprise a remarkable find.

After a long, harsh northern winter, most people in this part of the world look to the arrival of the red-winged blackbirds and robins, buds and flowers to mark the arrival of spring. But let’s be honest, spring only truly arrives with “Rochester” (the annual Rochester Mineralogical Symposium). Rochester is for people who love minerals and mineral collecting – if you’d like to see more about this year’s symposium (including photographs from the presenters), I hope you’ll enjoy this post.

This China Update – April 2014 features excellent new chalcopyrite/siderite and tennantite specimens from the Kaiwu Mine (the tennantites have been confirmed by analysis). The update also includes amazing highly distinctive new calcites from Chenzhou Prefecture, Hunan Province (including some unique mushroom-shaped ones). I’ve also included a few other excellent quality calcite specimens from Shimen, […]

This Dravite Tourmaline Update is a group of super crystals from Serra Branca, Rio Grande do Norte – an older find just coming to light for the first time. Sharp and lustrous, these crystals show textbook form and many look like crystal models.

Each year when “Tucson” nears, I’m like a kid who can’t wait to race downstairs on Christmas morning. Just the chance to experience the sprawling mineral shows all over the city (known collectively in Mineral World simply as “Tucson”)… there is so much to see! This is a brief blog post about a few finds from Tucson 2014.

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.

Who could pass up the chance to adventure in one of the world’s greatest mineral countries? Morocco hosts to some of the great contemporary specimen producing localities of our time, in a beautiful region with stunning landscapes.

After the Sahara adventure, it was time to descend into the workings of the world famous Mibladen mining district.