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INTRODUCTION

Benitoite almost every mineralcollector desires to have a specimenof this unique blue mineral. Aside froma few small nearby deposits, only theBenitoite Gem mine has commercially produced gem quality benitoite andspecimens of stunning beauty. Since itsdiscovery in 1907, literally tens of thou-sands of benitoite and neptunite speci-mens have been produced. It is a slow and involved process to remove theencasing natrolite with various chemi-cals but the effort is well worth it to un-cover the mineral heritage from oneof the most unique mineral depositsin the world. The State of California rec-ognized the significance of this distinc-tive mineral by declaring it to be the

Official State Gemstone of California. On

October 1, 1985 in Sacramento, Califor-nia, the State legislature passed Assem-bly Bill No. 2357. The text was simple,but it was everything that everyone whoknew anything about benitoite had everhoped for. Section 425.3 is added to theGovernment code to read: Benitoite isthe official state gemstone of Califor-

nia .

LOCATION

The Benitoite Gem mine, formerly known as the Dallas Gem mine, is situ-ated near the southern tip of San BenitoCounty about 30 km to the north and

west of Coalinga, California. The town of King City lies about 45 km to the west of the mine. In a broader sense the mine

lies about half way between San Fran-cisco and Los Angeles. The stereotype of California usually involves visions of endless beaches, and lots of people. Thissection of California however, is consid-ered remote by just about any standardimaginable. Few roads and no amenitiesthat most people are used to can befound within 30 km in any direction. Theonly way to get near the mine, other than

M I N E R A LI S S U E # 3 T H E C O L L E C T O R S N E W S P A P E R 2 0 1 1

www.MinersLunchbox.com

M. Budil specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Editors:

Tomasz Praszkier (Poland) Scott Werschky (USA)

Associated photographer:

Jeff Scovil (USA)

Contact:

[email protected]

BenitoiteGem mine, USAJ(!' VEEVaERt

Benitoite on natrolite, 3.7 cm high, Beni-toite Gem mine. A. Seibel specimen.

INTRODUCTION

One of the least known finds of world class minerals in Europe wasmade in an iron mine in the polar regionof northernmost Sweden two decadesago. The Malmberget mine located nearGllivare, Lappland, Sweden has pro-duced a number of well crystallized min-erals since the end of the 19th century.Since the 1980s, numerous exceptionalspecimens have been found, and the au-thor was fortunate to participate inthe extraction of many of the crystals.Credit for the preservation of specimensduring several decades of mining goes

to miner Kenneth Holmgren. Of coursethis was only possible because of the pos-itive attitude toward collecting held by the mining company LKAB.

In 1982 a pocket with exceptionalgreen fluorites was found and then in1988-89 two extraordinary pockets withgolden calcite crystals were discovered.Specimens from these finds are very rareon the market and at the same timehighly sought-after by mineral collectorsaround the world.

GEOLOGY

Northern Sweden has several of the worlds largest and richest magmatic

S. Rudolph specimen. J. Scovil photo.

In this issue also:

Collector interview:Adalberto Giazotto (Italy)

This time our Collector Inter- view is with one of the best and mostfamous European collectors: Adal-berto Giazotto from Italy. Adalbertohas been building his collection forthe last half a century. He has con-

centrated on large, if not huge, spec-imens of the highest possible quality. All collectors know how difficult it isto find a perfect, damage-free speci-men, and we can only imagine how difficult it is to find huge specimens

which are not only perfect, but aes-thetic, too!

Read on page 21

Journal presentations:The Mineralogical Record

The Mineralogical Record is aninternational journal for mineral col-lectors beginners to advanced, mi-neral museum curators, dealers inmineral specimens, and specimen-oriented mineralogists. Two-thirds of the subscribers are from the U.S. andCanada; one third are from Europeand other countries.

The magazine is issued six times a year (averaging roughly 750pages per year, printed on glossy high-quality paper) ...

Read on page 19

J .

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Golden calcitesfrom MalmbergetPe e* LYCKBERG

The author in the Butterfly Twin Pocket, 1989. Malmberget mine, Sweden. Continiued on page 14

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by a privately owned chip sealed road, is via a bumpy dirt road with several unim-proved stream crossings. Travel in the

winter time is nearly impossible due tosnow and very slick, muddy roads. Themine is positioned just upslope of theSan Benito River at an altitude of 1,380meters.

The coastal mountains between SanFrancisco and Los Angeles are expan-sive and for the most part even today,empty of any human development otherthan ranches and a few small towns androads which transect them. Imagine thedifficulty in accessing this region in 1907,the year benitoite was discovered, whenthere were no roads and the only meansof moving through the area was on foot.The vegetation in the area consists of

very thick chaparral that is seemingly impossible to walk through yet that wasthe task set in front of James Couch ashe left Coalinga to prospect the area in

southern San Benito County for new mercury deposits in early February,1907.

HISTORY OF THE DEPOSIT

James Marshall Couch had beengrubstaked by Roderick Dallas andThomas Sanders with $50 worth of sup-plies and a horse. It was mid-winter

when Couch set out, so there was likely some cold weather to contend with ashe made his way into the headwatersof the San Benito River looking for traces

of minerals eroding out of the adjacenthills. It is reported in several sourcesthat he found a forested glade along thesmall river and made camp after having been prospecting for several weeks. Thisoffered him a flat place with grass feedfor his horse, and plenty of firewood forhimself to keep warm during the long cold nights.

Accounts of the discovery report

that on February 22, 1907 Couch climbedthe hill across from his camp to lookfor possible outcrops to investigate.On his way up the slope he stumbledupon a small area literally littered withmyriads of small dark blue crystals.He initially suspected the crystals tobe diamonds or sapphires owing tothe blue color and set about to collecta small hoard then raced back toCoalinga to announce his discovery. Itis possible that the Native Ameri-cans who inhabited this region may haveseen this deposit at some point in thedistant past on a hunting trip but asfar as Couch could tell no one had everbeen to this spot before. Imagine thisoutcrop weathering for millennia withno one knowing of its existence andthen being the first person to have everseen this rich blue mineral layingin abundance on the ground! Creditfor the discovery was taken by otherpeople, primarily Roderick Dallas andanother fellow by the name of LelandHawkins, but sifting through the histori-

cal records suggests that Couch was thesole discoverer of the deposit.

It did not take long for the area tobe legally claimed and mining to com-mence. The claim was given the nameof Dallas Gem mine in recognition of thefinancial backing provided by Dallas

for the operation. Still, none of the char-acters involved knew what it was thatthey were mining. Speculation centeredon the crystals being sapphire or spinelor even some form of volcanic glass.Later in 1907 a small group of speci-mens found their way to Dr. GeorgeLouderback who was professor ofmineralogy at the University of Califor-nia, Berkeley. Louderback quickly recog-nized that this blue mineral was newto science. He also thought that theaccompanying dark black mineral asso-ciated with the blue mineral, was alsonew to science. He set out to publisha preliminary note in July 1907 onthe new species and tentatively calledthe blue mineral benitoite named afterSan Benito County and the San BenitoRiver. He suggested that the blackmineral be named carlosite after thenearby San Carlos Peak. Later in 1907Louderback determined that carlosite

was in fact neptunite a mineral whichhad been discovered in 1893 in Green-land.

After securing more specimens andhaving a chance to actually go to themine site Louderback commenced to for-mally describe the new mineral beni-toite. Many people consider this one of the finest descriptions of a new mineralspecies ever written. It was published in1909 with the chemical analyses being completed by Walter Blasedale. All of the

hand-colored copies were quickly dis-

persed to universities and mineralogistsaround the globe.

Initial recovery of benitoite con-sisted of breaking open the encasing nat-rolite by sledge to find the gem nodules.

Perhaps hundreds or even thousands of stunning specimens were lost throughthis method. It did not take long however,for the miners to learn that natrolite wassoluble in various acids. It must havebeen quite a scene to see hundreds of

kilos of natrolite veins in acid to expose

2 B E N I T O I T E G E M M I N E , U S A M I N E R A L S I S S U E# 3

Plate from Louderback paper published in 1909. Photo of mine area one year after dis-covery. Arrows shows limit of mineralization. Photo taken in the Dallas Gem mine in

1907 showing Roderic Dallas (left), firstowner of the mine, and James Couch(right), discoverer of the deposit. Photocourtesy of Collectors Edge.

Mining in the Dallas Gem mine in 1908. Photo was published in Louderbacks paper, 1909.

20 km

L o s A n g e l e s

Washington

OttawaS a n F r a n c i s c o

Mexico

USA

USA

CA N ADA

M E X I C O

S a n B e n i t o C o u n t y

King City

CoalingaSan Lucas

San Ardo

Greeneld

Soledad

Paicines

Avenal

Huron

Canuta Creek

Tranquillity

KermanMendota

Gonzales

BenitoiteGem mine

Map of USA with location of the Benitoite Gem mine, and inset showing detail of the mine area.

Cabin at Dallas Gem mine built during the summer 1907 for $35. Mine team with riffles and pistols. James Couch is second from the left. Photo courtesy of Collectors Edge.


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and was eventually used in the reclama-tion work. Hence, some of this mineral-ized material will continue to be foundthrough the action of rain and intensefield collector interest. The mine, how-ever, will never again produce at a com-mercial scale.

In 2008 John Veevaert of Weaver- ville, California (author) and Steve Perry

of Davis, California negotiated purchaseof the entire nine-plus ton of inventory of benitoite specimens, partially processed,and unprocessed run-of-mine materialfrom The Collectors Edge. Rough, unfin-ished material has been made available

for purchase by collectors to try theirhand at cleaning their own specimens.Perry and Veevaert are also process-ing material for specimens and gemrough.

THE GEOLOGY OF THE AREA

The Benitoite Gem mine is located

in the New Idria mining district situatedin the southern end of the Diablo Range.The district has been prospected sincethe early 1850's for gold, mercury,chromium, asbestos and mineral speci-mens. The district covers a large body

of serpentinite which was tectonically emplaced into surrounding sedimentary and metamorphic rocks in the Jurassicperiod. A subsequent plate collisionput downward pressure on the serpenti-nite. However, being of a lighter density,portions separated and migratedupward through the overlying layersof rock. This established the foundation

for a setting where these portions ofserpentinite would experience the low temperature and high pressure meta-morphism known as blue schist facies.During the mid Miocene the region

was intruded by small igneous bodies,

primarily of syenitic composition. Thisproduced numerous calc-silicate veinsystems throughout the district. It wasone of these systems, altering the blueschist rock, that deposited the min-eralization found at the Benitoite Gemmine.

ORIGIN AND STYLEOF MINERALIZATION

The elements that comprise beni-toite are thought to have been mobilizedfrom the host rock and deposited during the late stage cooling of hydrothermalfluids in calc-silicate veins fracturingthe wall rock of blue schist blocks. Othernearby benitoite deposits have a similarsetting bearing out the hypothesis.Previous geologic investigations have

suggested that the benitoite mineraliza-tion was subsequent to the formationof the blueschist. Their analyses placethe age of the blueschist at between 100and 160 million years of age and the ben-itoite present in the cross cutting calc


Extended workings at the mine around 2004. Collectors Edge photo.

Big boulders with natrolite and benitoite veins. M. Gray photo.

Mine workings in October 2003. J. Bean photo.

Workings at the Benitoite Gem mine around 2000. M. Gray photo.

Recent satellite image of the mine area after reclamation. Image bing.com.

Unique photo showing benitoite-rich natrolite vein in situ. Collectors Edge photo.


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System for washing and sorting gem crystals from dumps. Collectors Edge photo. Buzz Gray operating the washer to remove mud. M. Gray photo.

Bryan Lees watching for specimens and gem rough on conveyor belt. Next step was hand sorting gem crystals and fragments after washing. Last photo shows freshly collected gem crystals. Collectors Edge photos.

Benitoite gemstones up to 1.43 cts. Collectors Edge specimens. J. Scovil photo. Benitoite gemstones (to 1.66 cts) showing different colors. B. Gray coll. J. Scovil photo.


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7B E N I T O I T E G E M M I N E , U S AI S S U E # 3 M I N E R A L S

of diamond. Hence, cut stones come alive with fire from refracted light. The bluecolor of benitoite is not affected by any treatment such as heat or irradiation, al-though the colorless sections of a beni-toite crystal have been changed toorange when heated (Bill Forrest per-sonal communication 2002).

Benitoite is strongly reactive undershort wave ultraviolet light radiation.It fluoresces a very bright, opaque, sky blue color. The fluorescence appearsto be stronger in crystals with crossiteinclusions than crystals of gem qual-ity. Some crystals fluoresce a dull red-dish orange color under long wave ultra-

violet light. The s trong reaction undershort wave UV light is a very useful

exploration tool for locating specimens

at the mine, and for prospecting. The nat-

ural fluorescence is also important as itadds to brilliance of finished gemstonesin sunlight.

The primary use of benitoite isas specimens for mineral collectors anduse as an ornamental gemstone. Thoughnot well suited for use in rings due to itshardness of only 6.5, it is dazzling in pen-dants, earrings and necklaces. The vastmajority of finished gems are under0.5 carat weight. Gems over 1 carat arerare and gems over 2 carats are consid-ered very rare. The largest known pieceof rough recovered was a 34 caratpiece found by the current owner DaveSchreiner shortly after he acquiredthe mine from The Collectors Edge, Inc.It produced a finished stone of over8 carats and several smaller stones.The largest known faceted benitoiteis owned by Mike Scott and is a 15.42 ctstone. The prices of finished gemstoneshave skyrocketed in recent years. Asa gemstone, benitoite is orders of mag-nitude scarcer than diamonds, emeraldsor rubies. High quality finished stones

of one carat with good clarity and color will command prices of $3,000 or more.Stones of two carats can bring $8,000-$10,000. Values should continue toappreciate in the future as supply islimited and additional commercial pro-

duction is not feasible.

It is hard torank the finestspecimens but twospecimens in the LA County Museum are considered to

be among the best a large 3 cmtriply terminated crystal and afabulous ring of adjoined benitoitecrystals. A smaller specimen in theauthors personal collection is consid-ered one of the finest with the threespecies benitoite, neptunite and joaqui-nite arranged in an aesthetic position. It

was dubbed the Sushi Plate by BryanLees of Collectors Edge.

Most new minerals discovered inthe last 100 years have been as a resultof some unusual diffraction patternin an X-Ray analysis or as some micro-scopic crystals that could only beappreciated under a scanning electron

microscope. Benitoite caused an imme-diate sensation with its large well-formed crystals accompanied by equally striking crystals of neptunite and joa-quinite. There have been few occasionsin the history of mineraldiscoveries where a

new species was found withsuch magnificent

crystals.

NeptuniteKNa2Li(Fe 2+ , Mn2+ )2Ti2Si8O24

The Benitoite Gem mine hasproduced the worlds finest known crys-tals of neptunite. It is by far the mostabundant mineral aside from Natrolitein the deposit. Neptunite is about tentimes more plentiful than benitoite.The principle habit is prismatic thoughsome stubby crystals are known. Ata macro scale neptunite appears to be

jet black in color. It is actually a deepred color which is seen at certain anglesin large crystals or in micro crystals

where light can pass through it. It also

Benitoite crystals with 1.43 ct gemstone. Collectors Edge specimens. J. Scovil photo.

Benitoite gemstones up to 5.53 cts. B. Gray specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Stibiotantalite pendant with benitoites, 4.5 cm high. B. Gray coll. J. Scovil photo. Benitoite crystal with gemstones. Collec-tors Edge specimens. Van Pelt photo.

Gemmy benitoite crystal 8 mm wide. AM Mizunaka specimen and photo.

Custom benitoite necklace made with133 gemstones, the largest of which

weighs 3.5 ct. Ed Swoboda collection. Photo courtesy of Ed Swoboda.


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appears reddish brown in color whenheavily included with crossite. Neptuniteforms two types of twins. The most com-mon is a twin on (301). The rarest twinis that found on (001). There are proba-bly no more than eight or nine of theseknown. Crystal sizes for neptunite rangefrom micros to an average of 2-3 cm.Crystals as large as 10 cm are known.Large plates to 1 meter across exist of neptunite crystals exposed from natro-lite.

JoaquiniteCe (TL) NaFeBa 2Ce2(Ti,Nb)2[Si4O12]2O2(OH,F)(H 2O)

Joaquinite was first discovered atthe Benitoite Gem mine. It is by far themost complex mineral found in terms of chemistry. Two other species have beendelineated which include strontiojoa-quinite and barrio-orthojoaquinite. In thelatter two, niobium and cerium are ab-sent. The strontium to barium ratios de-termine which species it is. Most of the

joaquinite found at the deposit are 3 mm

or less in size and have a honey to cin-namon color. Several crystals are knownto exceed 4 mm. Joaquinite, a monoclinicmineral, was originally thought to crys-tallize in the orthorhombic system.However, later work determined thattwinning on 001 created the orthorhom-bic crystal shape.

Jonesite (TL)Ba4(K,Na)2[Ti 4 Al2Si10O36]6H 2O

Jonesite was discovered in 1957 by Francis Jones. It was later described in1977 as a new species. It is by far therarest mineral found at the deposit.It forms small colorless crystals up to3 mm in length but usually far smalleras single bladed crystals or as sprays.The crystals form in the orthorhombiccrystal system.

Previous literature suggested that jonesite was not found in situ with beni-toite. It was the view of previous authorsthat jonesite formed at the expenseof benitoite since both species containbarium, titanium and the Si 3O9 complex.The author has several specimensand knows of others that show a com-mingling of benitoite and jonesitetogether. So their emplacement in the

vein system appears to have been con-current.

Natrolite Na2 Al2Si3O102H 2O

Natrolite is ubiquitous throughoutmuch of the deposit. It was deposited inthe last pulse of mineralization in the

vein system and is only rarely encoun-tered in crystals. Where the veins did not

entirely fill with natrolite, stubby, pris-matic crystals are found. The crystalsare invariably milky white and opaque.Gray to green colored natrolite crystalsexist which are heavily included withactinolite or crossite. Much of the wellcrystallized natrolite in collections la-beled as coming from the Benitoite Gemmine is in fact from several other nearby deposits.

Other minerals

In addition to the above namedspecies, the most commonly encounteredminerals at the Benitoite Gem mine in-clude the copper sulfides djurleite andchalcocite. Other noteable species in-clude: apatite, albite, manganese oxides,silica pseudomorphs presumed to beafter serandite and analcime. Severaloddities are also known including boatite


Gemmy floater benitoite 1.4 cm wide. R. Kennedy specimen. J. Scovil photo.

21 cm wide specimen covered by benitoites. Crystal Classics specimen and photo.

Photo of giant specimen shown at right. J. Veevaert photo.


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Exceptionally large specimen of benitoite and neptunite, 43 cm wide, printed life-size. Collectors Edge specimen. J. Wheeler photo.

Benitoite with joaquinite crystals, 7.5 cm high. J. Veevaert specimen and photo.


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The Wreath, one of the best known benitoite specimens, 6 cm wide. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County specimen. H. and E. Van Pelt photo.

The famous Josie Scripps benitoite, 18 cm wide. W. Larson specimen.

Benitoite specimen, 4 cm wide. S. Rudolph specimen. J. Budd photo.

Benitoite crystals to 2.1 cm. B. and E. Moller specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Gem benitoite crystals, 2.3 cm wide. Col- lectors Edge specimen. J. Scovil photo

Benitoite crystals to 3.4 cm. Mineral Search specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Benitoite, specimen 2.1 cm high. R. Ken- nedy specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Gemmy benitoites, specimen 15.5 cm wide. W. Larson coll. W. Minorotkul photo.

Benitoite with neptunite combinations to 6.2 cm. B. Gray specimens. J. Scovil photo.

Benitoite specimen, 3.5 cm wide. K. Ward specimen. J. Budd photo.

Gemmy benitoites, 4.7 cm wide. B. Gray specimen. J. Scovil photo.


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Superb specimen with benitoite and a 4.3 cm doubly terminated neptunite. Specimen10.1 cm wide. J. Veevaert specimen and photo.

Benitoite (1.2 cm wide) with neptunite and natrolite. M. Chinellato specimen and photo.

The famous Sushi Plate with benitoite, neptunite and superb twinned joaquinite.Specimen 4 cm wide. J. Veevaert specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Benitoite with large neptunite crystals, specimen 13.6 cm high. J Gibbs specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Benitoite with neptunite, 6.8 cm wide. Mineral Search specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Benitoite with neptunite 3.2 cm wide. J. Veevaert specimen. J. Fisher photo.

30 cm wide specimen with benitoite and neptunite. A. Giazotto specimen and photo.

Neptunites with benitoites and joaquinites, specimen 8.4 cm wide. California State Mining and Minerals Museum specimen. J. Scovil photo.


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Neptunite twinned on (301), 3.4 cm high. M. Gray specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Gem neptunite crystal 0.9 mm high on

benitoite. L. Mattei specimen and photo. Neptunite exhibiting rare twinning habiton (001). Twin is 2.2 cm high. J. Veevaert

specimen. J. Fisher photo.

Neptunite, 9.5 cm high. D. and M. Bristol specimen. J. Budd photo.

Neptunite crystals, 2.8 cm wide. Arken- stone specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Neptunite, 3.7 cm high. J. Rosenthal specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Neptunite, specimen 6 cm high. J. Rosen-thal specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Roderic and Lyda Dallas donating a huge neptunite specimen to the University of Cali- fornia at Berkeley, ca 1940s. Photo in courtesy Collectors Edge.

Neptunite crystals on natrolite matrix, 12.5 cm wide. J. Veevaert specimen and photo.

Neptunite crystals with the more com- mon (301) twinning. Specimens to6.8 cm. B. Gray specimens. J. Scovil

photo.

Neptunite twinned on (301), 2.8 cm wide. W. Larson specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Neptunite crystals with natrolite, 6.3 cm wide. F. Benjamin specimen. J. Scovil photo.


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and a unique specimen of wire silver ex-solved from a djurleite crystal.

SPECIMENS

Most of the early efforts to recoverbenitoite was done mechanically and

was focused primarily on the recoveryof gem rough. This resulted in count-less quantities of specimens that werebattered and not suitable for collec-tions. Once the use of acids was em-ployed to remove the natrolite the qual-ity of specimens increased exponen-tially.

So, what does it take to get acleaned specimen of benitoite and/or

neptunite? Attractive specimens of thisbeautiful mineral assemblage just don'thappen they are the result of many hours spent carefully removing the en-casing natrolite to provide an aestheticfinished specimen. The process involvesseveral steps all of which are time con-suming and require a bit of artistic apti-tude. One thing to keep in mind during the process is that removing matrixis a one way procedure. Once it is re-

moved it cannot be put back. Too muchremoval is as detrimental to the finishedspecimen as leaving too much. Severalsteps including the application of anetch inhibitor, soaking in acid, and rins-ing are necessary to remove enoughof the natrolite so as to presentan aesthetic specimen. More infor-mation on how to clean speci-mens from this deposit can befound at www.benitoite.com .

A final word here onbenitoite from the Beni-toite Gem Mine. It is esti-mated that at least 98%of all benitoite crys-tals have a mattedluster. The pina-coid and prismfaces will al-most alwaysbe lustrous.The pyra-midal faces,however, willnot. That is just

the way MotherNature createdthese things. Com-pletely lustrouscrystals are rare. The other thing to re-member is when something has sataround for millions of years some frac-turing is likely to occur. The vastmajority benitoite crystals were frac-tured though eons of natural processes.That is why the best quality benitoite

specimens command large prices. They are, unfortunately, the exception to therule.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Author would like to thankthe following people for their con-

tributions to this paper: PeteBancroft, Ed and Bryan Swo-

boda, Buzz and Mike Gray,Bill Forrest, Bob Kahl,

Steve Perry, Rick Kennedy,Rock Currier, Chris-

tian Rewitzer, JesseFisher, Bryan Lees

and Richard Jack-son of the Collec-

tors Edge, TonyPeterson, the

L. A. CountyMuseum of N a t u r a l

H i s t o r y ,Elmar Lack-

ner, Harold and

Erica Van Pelt,Luigi Mattei, AMMizunaka, JoanMamarella, Jeff

Scovil, Henry Barwood, Joe Budd, Mat-teo Chinellato and special thanks to

Wendell Wilson.

J(!' VEEVaERtt*"'" / M"'e* %+, USa

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Jonesite crystal cluster, 1.2 mm wide.C. Rewitzer specimen and photo.

Apatite crystals to 4 mm in natrolite. J. Veevaert specimen and photo.

Jonesite crystal cluster, 4 mm wide. J. Veevaert specimen and photo.

Natrolite crystals to 1.9 cm. J. Veevaert specimen and photo.

Joaquinite with benitoite. Field of view 3 cm. B. Gray specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Djurleite crystal with benitoite. Crystal size 0.7 mm. J. Veevaert specimen and photo.

Joaquinite crystal, 2 mm long. C. Rewitzer specimen and photo.

Joaquinite crystal, 0.9 mm wide. C. Rewit- zer specimen and photo.

Joaquinite crystal, 1 mm tall. E. Lackner specimen and photo.

1.2 mm djurleite crystal with neptunite.C. Rewitzer specimen and photo.

Djurleite crystal with benitoite. Crystal size 0.8 mm. J. Veevaert specimen and photo.

Faceted benitoite broche in the shape of a benitoite crystal, 5.7 cm wide. M. Gray specimen. J. Scovil photo.


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14 A D S M I N E R A L S I S S U E# 3

Scovil Photography P.O. BOX 7773, Phoenix, AZ85011 Tel: +1 602 254 0735, Cell: +1 602 692 0944

E-mail: [email protected] www.scovilphoto.com

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15G O L D E N C A L C I T E S . . .I S S U E # 3 M I N E R A L S

magnetite deposits. The magmatic originof these large sheet like ore bodies hasonly been confirmed by geologists withinthe last 30 years. The largest of theseiron ore deposits occur at Kiruna,Malmberget and Svappavaara. The Mal-mberget (Ore Mountain) deposit differs

from the others due to the presence of well crystallized mineral species. Theeuhedral crystal growth can be attribu-ted to metamorphism and associatedskarn mineralization as well as tectonicmovement which all combined to formextensive cavity systems that were idealloci for crystal development during latestage mineralization.

The Malmberget deposit is hostedby Precambrian volcanics which weresubjected to at least two metamorphicevents yeilding gneisses. The gneisses

were intruded by sheet-like magmaticapatite-magnetite bodies. Intrusion of the magnetite bodies was followed by granitic and pegmatitic intrusions whichoverprinted skarn mineralization on themagmatic deposit. Late stage hydrother-mal fluids were probably responsible for

abundant solution cavities that werethen filled by fluorite, calcite, hematite,and stilbite crystals. Folding relatedto metamorphism modified the initialsheet-like magnetite body into semi-irregular, discontinuous bodies occur-ring over a 6 km long zone. The main ore

zone consists of 14 separate ore bodies, with several smaller bodies lateral to themain zone.

HISTORY

Malmberget Mountain rises abovethe deep forests of the polar region of northern Lappland. Magnetite deposits

were known here as early as the 17 th cen-tury. Mining at that time was sporadicdue to sparse population of the Lap(Sami) people whose primary existencecentered around reindeer herding. Early transportation of ores to the coast wasdone on sledges pulled by reindeer.

In 1888 a railroad was completedfrom the coastal town of Lule up to themining area which allowed for the startup of large scale mining. The mine wasinitially operated as an open pit. As eas-ily accessed ores were depleted at thesurface, underground mining commen-ced. Underground mining is presently

down to the 1000 m level. As of 2006more than 500,000,000 metric tonnes of ore have been produced, placing it sec-ond only to Kiruna in production.

Beautiful crystals and rich pockets were known from the early days of min-ing, but surprisingly few specimens werepreserved. A few old specimens can beseen at the Museum of Natural History in Stockholm, and there are records of exchanges with overseas museums. Ad-ditionally, specimens were sold by themining company. As early as the 1960sthe mining company was open to tourists(a policy still in effect today), and souve-nir specimens were made available to

visitors. My first exposure to minera lsfrom Malmberget come from samplescollected by my grandparents who tour-ed the mine in 1966.

SWEDISH MINERAL SHOWS AND A FEW MALMBERGETSPECIMENS IN 70S

Swedens first mineral show tookplace in 1977 in the old traditional min-ing center of Kopparberg in the south-central part of the country. There werestill many working mines at that time.Miners and collectors came from all overSweden, and a few people broughtspecimens from northern Lappland. Oneminer brought a whole flat of almost

perfect groups of scalenohedral, light yellow to light honey colored calcite crys-tals. They were collected from a longpocket located in the roof of an accesstunnel at Malmberget. These crystals

were at the time, the finest ever fromSweden. Later in the 1970s, some aver-age to very fine specimens appeared atshows, but only in very small quantities.These were principally fluorapaites, stil-bites, calcites, hornblendes, pyrites andbyssolite.

As a young teenager, I had no lucktrying to buy a single crystal as the

whole flat was already reserved fora big dealer from Stockholm. The deal-er bought the whole lot as an invest-ment, and stashed them away (it wasdecades later when they finally madeit to market!). From that day on, the

search has been on to find superb Malm-berget calcite specimens

FLUORITE POCKETS OF 1982

In 1982 an exceptional find of em-erald green fluorite octahedrons wasmade in a meter sized pocket at the topof a tunnel in the Baron ore body. A sec-ond pocket was later found in the wallnear the discovery pocket. The firstpocket yielded fine large green octahed-rons in association with quartz, orange

Golden calcites,of the Malmberget, Sweden

Pe e* LYCKBERG

Vikings helmet and tablecloth in Swe-dish flag motif. Two specimens and cut stone are among the best from the

find. P. Lyckberg specimens and photo.

LHD mine vehicle underground in the Malmberget mine corridors. LKAB photo.

Continiued from page 1 Oslo

Moscow

Warsaw

Stockholmto kholm

Helsinki

Kyiv

Minsk

BerlinLondonon on

Dublinu lin

Reykjavik

MadridLisboa

Paris

Romeom

Brussel

Amsterdam

Zurich

Praha

Wien BratislavaBudapest

Athinathin

Soa

BucurestiLjubljana

ZagrebBeograd

S W E D

E N

Fluorites 1982

Calcites 1989

Map of Europe outlining the region around the Malmberget mine. Insert of modified cross-section shows mine location, main ore- bodies and sites of fluorite and calcite finds described in the text. Drawing by LKAB.

One of the open pits at the edge of Malmberget town. Main shaft and dumps from

recent mining activity is seen at the upper left horizon. LKAB photo.

Collecting one of the pockets in the Malmberget mine. B. Morgenstern photo.


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16 G O L D E N C A L C I T E S . . . M I N E R A L S I S S U E# 3

stilbite, chalcopyrite (in complex comb-spheroidal aggregates), calcite, specularhematite, and chlorite. All together, there

were five fluorite-bearing pockets rang-ing in size from very small to about twometers long. The best pocket was namedthe Christmas Tree Pocket due to the vi-brant colors of green fluorite with redhematite, white quartz, and golden stil-

bite. Only a handful of exceptional pieces were collected up to 15 cm in size with2-3 cm crystals. No more than 20 smallerpieces of good quality were also collec-ted. The green color of these fluorites isunique, and specimens from these pock-

ets are considered by many to be someof the finest fluorites known!

THE FIRST CALCITE POCKET THE GEM POCKET

During a visit to Malmberget minerKenneth Holmgrens house in 1988, abroken fragment of gem-clear, scaleno-hedral calcite with golden color wasshown to me. The color and quality weremuch better than pieces seen at the Kop-parberg show almost 10 years earlier.

When asked when, and from what part of the mine had it been recov-ered? , the miner was a bit reluctant toanswer. Even though the find was ratherrecent, the miner didnt recall exactly

where he found the specimen. After a long search among part of

the 600 km of drivable tunnels in themine, Kenneth showed me a magnetiterock face in a ramp tunnel, and saidthere it is! . I was not convinced of thelocation because there were no calcite

veins, pods or even small fragments vis-

ible in this part of the tunnel! A smallexcavation had been blasted out to

widen the tunnel for parking, erasing allsign of the calcite pocket. Upon detailedexamination, the area didnt look at allpromising, but who knows what may

hide within this black orebody on theother side of the rock wall?

On the left side of the parking spotthere was a 15-20 cm wide fissure in thesolid magnetite making up the tunnel

wall. The vertical fissure was filled withcoarse grained magnetite sand andshowed absolutely no signs of crystalli-zation.

Taking turns digging out the mag-netite sand filling this fracture, the

walls still didnt show any signs of crys-tallization. No magnetite, no apatite, andno calcite seen with more than 1.5 m of pocket emptied out! We we just about tothe point where we could not reach any further up into this deep pocket, and sud-denly a bit of calcite started to show.

A 25x20 cm flower of golden calcite be-came exposed... a view never to be for-gotten shining in the light of the mining lamp! Imagine seeing flawless, razor

sharp, gemmy scalenohedrons, of an un-imaginable golden color and luster con-trasted with the black magnetite ore!The cluster consisted of approximately 30 crystals 5-12 cm in length, the centerhaving a depression i.e. lacking the per-fect crystals. Immediately the pocket

was named guld/gul kalcit hlan (theGem Pocket). Even today these are con-sidered among the finest golden calcitescalenohedrons ever found.

The difficult position of the calcitecluster necessitated serious work to re-cover it complete and undamaged onmatrix. That first evening, only one groupof two crystals and one single crystal

were brought up to the surface. They came sliding down a sand slope 2.5 meterinto the pocket while we were working to

widen the fissure to facilitate future re-covery of the magnificent specimen.

The mine has to be evacuated eachevening due to huge production blasts atmidnight. In order to protect the min-erals, the Gem Pocket was backfilled

with magnetite sand after covering the

flower with soft cloths. No traces of re-cent work were left. Sadly, I had to leaveat this exciting point in order to attendan obligatory test at the University.

During the next week Kenneth dug a 3 m long and 70-80 cm wide tunnelthrough solid magnetite with the idea of accessing the flower face on. He wasthen going to drill around it with a dia-mond drill in order to remove the speci-men intact. The last day he was so tiredthat he left the specimen unprotected atthe wall. Unfortunately, he mentionedthis find to a completely inexperiencedminer who went down with his fatherand simply knocked the crystals off the

wall! Upon hearing this terrible news,the miner was contacted and asked tohold the crystals for me. After coming back to the mine it turned out that miner

Large specimen of fluorite with stilbite from the Emerald Pocket, 15.7 cm wide. P. Lyckberg specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Fluorite with stilbite from the Emerald Pocket, 6.7 cm cm high. J. and G. Spann specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Iconic calcite specimen from the Butterfly Pocket, 13.6 cm high. P. Lyckberg specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Calcite crystal from the Butterfly Twin pocket Pocket, 12.3 cm high. P. Lyckberg specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Fluorite with stilbite and hematite-coated quartz from the Christmas Tree Pocket, largest fluorite is 2.5 cm. P. Lyckberg specimen. J. Scovil photo.


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17G O L D E N C A L C I T E S . . .I S S U E # 3 M I N E R A L S

had already sold most of the flowerparts. What was really annoying wasthat not only did the miner have no claimto the piece having not discovered it nordone all the work to expose it for easy and safe collecting, he had also promisedto keep the crystals for us, the originaldiscoverers. Over the ensuing years Ihave been buying back the pieces fromthis lost specimen.

When work was again started look-ing for extensions of the calcite pocket,it appeared to be in fact a system of small narrow pockets with occasionalcalcite crystallization. Another miner,Roland Bckstrm, known for his instantignition and competing with Kenneth,blasted the rock face to smithereens.It was depressing to see thousands of calcite shards littering the floor. Someof them were certain to have been partsof world-class specimens worthy of any museum collection; unfortunately, notmuch survived.

Surprisingly, a very large (17 cm),flawless, gem quality scalenohedron of calcite survived the blast. It was found ina small, thin fissure growing from one

wall just touching the other wall. This

gemmy calcite is the finest of its kind andresides in the authors collection. All to-gether less than a dozen exceptionalcrystals were saved while all the othershad broken terminations or were brokenin half or worse. Regrettably, no images

were made of the Gem Pocket in situ. After such an impressive find, one

can imagine the rumors that startedamong the locals. Miners talked withfriends, who spoke with other friends,and pretty soon a large cave was found

with even bigger gemmy calcites! Unfor-tunately, the rumors being totally untrue,

were better than the calcites! On a posi-tive note, the rumors did spur the minersto search the tunnels for more crystals.

SECOND CALCITE POCKET THE BUTTERFLY TWIN POCKET

Discovery of the Gem Pocket prom-pted Kenneth to think of other places inthe mine that might have specimen po-tential. Years earlier, while loading rocksfrom a blast on the upper level of the

same ramp as the Gem Pocket, Kennethhad noted a lot of calcite splinters in themuck. There was too much work to getdone to permit exploring for crystals, soall Kenneth could do was casually makenote of the presence of numerous calcitepockets. Now Kenneth was desperately searching both the mine, and the memo-ries in his mind for that place with thepotential of more golden calcites. He fi-nally located the pocket high up on the

wall, close to the ceiling approximately 50 m vertically above the Gem Pocket.This pocket didnt have such pristine

gemmy crystals, but there were very large scalenohedrons occurring in thepocket which turned out to be the upperextension of the same fissure zone asthe Gem Pocket. The outer part of thepocket had been sprayed, and partially covered by shotcrete (concrete blownup on to mine walls and surfaces forsafety and ground control). Luckilythe entrance to the pocket was verynarrow and bending, thus preventing complete covering of the opening by theshotcrete.

Kenneth was able to peek some 2meters into this pocket where he saw 10to 30 cm long, transparent golden crys-tals hanging from the roof in one cornerof the pocket. On the bottom of the pock-et there was a strange knob of goldencalcite scalenohedrons, some of them

were much larger and very gemmy. After making this discovery, Ken-

neth immediately called me up. I almost jumped out of my chair from the de-scription of 10 cm flat calcite crystalslooking like butterflies sitting betweenscalenohedrons! A detailed explanationover the phone about the unique natureof these crystals resulted in a plan toremove half a meter of rock below thepocket before even attempting to removeany specimen. Kenneth was to pay spe-cial attention to protect these butterfly twins and remove the specimens in aslarge and intact pieces as possible. Many

nervous phone calls were made, between

dreams of what the crystals might looklike in person!

Following the recommendation toremove a big part of the wall rock below the pocket, Kenneth succeeded in remov-ing three large specimens, all of them

with several large butterfly twins grow-ing upon calcite scalenohedrons. It shuldbe noted here that most of the large but-terfly twins grew at the bottom of thepocket. In fact, most of the twins werefound on a single, half meter sized ball-like specimen at the bottom of the pock-et. Removal of these pieces was compli-cated by exceedingly hard rock below the pocket.

The largest and finest specimen re-moved (known now as the Lyckberg Calcite - eds. ) consists of a ball like ag-gregate 45x45x35 cm covered with gold-en calcite scalenohedrons. In betweenthe scalenohedrons are 12 gemmy gold-en butterfly twinned calcites up to 12.5cm wide. It looked like a school of but-terflies are just landing on a flower-cladmeadow. It was mined from the pocket lo-

cated 5 m high on a vertical wall, and 1.5meters inside a narrow fissure leading tothe pocket. After hours of removing thehard matrix under the specimen Ken-neth suddenly got it loose. This extraor-

dinary specimen was so heavy that he,an exceptionally strong man, said afterhaving lifted it with his arms fully ex-tended that he felt it was so heavy thathe would never be able to lift it again.

When Kenneth was asked How

in the world you did you manage to

Calcite crystals in situ . P. Lyckberg photo.

One of the best specimens from the find so called Lyckberg Calcite photographed with Peters son David when he was 3 months old. P. Lyckberg specimen and photo.

Calcite crystal on matrix, 3.3 cm high. P. Lyckberg specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Calcite crystal on matrix, 3.3 cm high. P. Lyckberg specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Kenneth Holmgren inside the Butterfly Twin Pocket. P. Lyckberg photo.

Twinned calcite, 11.2 cm wide. P. Lyckberg specimen. J. Scovil photo.


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918 G O L D E N C A L C I T E S . . . M I N E R A L S I S S U E# 3

lower the specimen from the cavityentrance several meters up on the

wall? , he replied simply When I reach-ed the vertical wall I turned aroundand walked down the wall holding the

specimen in my arms and put it intothe back of the truck . It is amazing

what can be done with the adrenaline of discovery and success!

Amazingly, the specimen placedon the truck bed survived not only thelong ride up out of the mine, but also thetemperature shock of coming from aheated underground mine straight outinto the -30C polar climate of January,1989.

With the news of the fantastic spe-cimen, I flew to Lappland to see this mar-

velous pocket, photographing it, and totry and recover additional specimens.The pocket was more impressive thanthe first. Only sections of the walls hadlarge deep colored calcites, while otherparts had smaller light yellow crystals.High humidity caused the lens of the ca-mera to get foggy all the time but despitethis, some clear images were luckily cap-tured of this remarkable calcite pocket.

Crystals were completely clean inthe pocket and as fresh as having beenformed yesterday. Calcite is a very frgile and soluable mineral, and it is for-tunate these crystals survived such along geologic history. That the calcitessurvived blasting during the mining pro-cess is nearly miraculous. Major tunnel-ing was only 2-3 meters from the pocket.Some of the larger crystals found in thepocket had been broken off from matrix long ago and recrystallized over the bro-ken surfaces. The largest butterfly twincollected reached over 16 cm!

During additional exploration a-round main cavity a second smallerpocket was found at the back, left end of the main pocket. A couple of large calcitetwins were growing on the bottom of thispocket, one of which is now in the Mu-seum of Natural History in Vienna.

As one can imagine, the discovery of such a pocket started the rumor millturning, which in turn spurred otherminers to search for crystals. It also ledto intense traffic of visitors, dealers, andcollectors not only from Sweden, butalso Norway, Germany, USA, and Japan.

A couple of inexperienced collectors with

sledgehammers and without permissionended up breaking crystals in order toremove more specimens. The result wassaddening, because no more exceptionalspecimens were recovered. Sloppy col-lecting led to destruction of the ceiling

which probably ruined as many as 300nice golden calcites!

Upon returning later to the pocketthe view was really depressing. Thepocket was filled with calcite shards andbasically nothing left of the hundreds of specimens possible to recover from the

walls. One of these destroyed specimens,a single perfect butterfly twin with both

wings raised as to take off among thegemmy scalenohedral crystals mighthave been a candidate for the best of spe-cies specimens.

COMPLETING SPECIMENS A few butterfly twins were missing

from the major specimens and throughdetective work and searching over the

years many have been located and re-stored to original positions on matrix.There are still two butterfly twin calcitecrystals missing which should be placedback onto their matrix. Any reader whoknows of such crystals is encouraged tonotify me of their whereabouts.

In fact, Ive been actively searching for any good specimens I can find fromMalmberget. At the Munich show in

2010, I was able to purchase back agreat speicmen that I had sold to acollector/dealer friend from America inJanuary, 1991. The collector had sold itto another collector (at a great profit),and with the economic downturn it wasonce again available, much to my sur-prise and joy! I have great pleasure in re-patriating specimens from Malmberget!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author wishes to thank the following people for their contributions to thispaper, whether it be by supplying speci-mens, providing access to the mine, orgeneral support in any fashion: KlaraPetterson, the LKAB Mining company and its staff, miner Kenneth Holmgrenand his family, beloved father and moth-er Lars and Berit Lyckberg, my brother

Anders Lyckberg, my wife Nadia, minerStefan and lastly Bill Morgenstern.

Pe e* LYCKBERGBP 2785, L-1027 L e&b( *

e-& "%: %/c$be* @) .%

A portion of the authors Malmberget calcite display. Crystal laying on its side at the right is the biggest known from the Gem Pocket 17 cm long. P. Lyckberg specimens and photo.

Calcite twin on matrix the specimen which came back to Peter in 2010 after 20 years!Specimen 17 cm wide. P. Lyckberg specimen. C. Hager photo.

Calcite specimen known as the Rocket,10 cm high. P. Lyckberg specimen.C. Hager photo.

Group of crystals on magnetite ore fromthe Gem Pocket, field of view 8 cm.

P. Lyckberg specimen and photo.

The biggest twin col lected from the Butterfly Twin Pocket 16.4 cm! P. Lyckberg specimen. J. Scovil photo.


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19J O U R A N L P R E S A N T A T I O N SI S S U E # 3 M I N E R A L S

GOAL

The Mineralogical Record is an in-ternational journal for mineral collectors beginners to advanced, mineral mu-seum curators, dealers in mineral speci-

mens, and specimen-oriented miner-alogists. Two-thirds of the subscribersare from the U.S. and Canada; one thirdare from Europe and other countries.

FOCUS

The magazine is issued six times a year (averaging roughly 750 pages per year, printed on glossy high-quality paper). It is generally considered to beone of the most authoritative and widely

respected mineral collector's journal in

the world. In-depth articles deal prima-rily with important worldwide minerallocalities (old and new), and the histori-cal aspects of mineral collecting, min-eral dealing and mineralogy. Reviews of public and private mineral collections,market reports from contemporarymineral shows, book reviews, and over-sized special issues and special supple-ments devoted to mineral-rich countries,states, districts, and famous individuallocalities are all included. All of these ar-ticles and features are illustrated by abundant top quality color photography

of fine mineral specimens, from micro-mount-size to cabinet specimens.

HISTORY AND EDITORS

The Mineralogical Record was found-ed in 1970 by John S. White, who was atthat time a curator in the Mineral Scien-ces Department of the Smithsonian In-stitution. After seven years as editor andpublisher, White stepped aside for a new editor, Dr. Wendell E. Wilson. Since itsinception, the Mineralogical Record hasgrown steadily in quality and promi-nence, thanks to the contributions of over 700 authors, photographers, artists,advertisers and donors. It has become acollective labor of love on the part of theentire mineralogical community world-

wide. In 2001, Thomas P. Moore joinedthe editorial staff, and has since madesignificant contributions of his own tothe magazine. In 2009 Thomas M. Gres-sman joined the staff as Associate Pub-lisher, and he will shortly be joined by Dr.Gu nther Neumeier.

QUALITY

Today The Mineralogical Recordcontinues to set the standard for quality content for the serious mineral collector,and each copy is carefully preserved andcollected in its own right by faithful sub-scribers around the world. The impor-

tance of the magazine was formally

recognized in 1982, when The Mineralo-gical Record became the first (and is stillthe only) journal ever to be honored withthe naming of a new mineral species(minrecordite), and again in 1994, whenit became the first (and is still the only)

journal ever to win the prestigious Car-negie Mineralogical Award. Editor-in-chief and publisher Wendell Wilson(after whom wendwilsonite was named)also received the Carnegie Mineralogical

Award, in 2001.EXTRA ISSUES

At the Mineralogical Record, bookpublishing has always been an importantadjunct to magazine production. Impor-tant titles include Fleischer's Glossaryof Mineral Species ; Peter Bayliss'sGlossary of Obsolete Mineral Names ,

with over 30,000 entries; Quintin Wight'sThe Complete Book of Micromounting ;Bob Jones A Fifty-Year History of theTucson Show ; thirteen volumes inthe Antiquarian Reprint Series ; andnumerous others. At the same time, theMineralogical Record Library has grownto become one of the finest antiquarianand general mineralogy libraries in theUnited States, a resource drawn uponregularly by the editors and authors.

WEB PAGE

www.Minera logica lRecord.com ,contains various free-access databases,

including an archive of over 1,500 bio-graphies of historical to modern mineralcollectors and dealers, a bio-biblio-graphy archive of over 1,500 authors of mineralogical works (from 1469 to 1919),an on-line museum of mineral art-

works by over 50 artists, a photo-regis-try of stolen specimens, an on-line

journal ( Axis , an eclectic journal of min-eralogy), a regular column about newsin the mineral world, and a complete list-

ing of the contents of every issue everpublished (some of which are still avail-able for purchase).

SUBSCRIPTION

A 1-year subscription costs $62 (US)and $70 (outside the US). You can sub-scribe through the website.

Dear readers, In this issue of Minerals, we

start a new column Journal presentations. In each issue we will present one magazine for mineralcollectors. At the end we we wouldlike to cover them all! The goal of this column is to help readers se-lect which magazine(s) might bestaddress their particular interests

in addition to he lping the maga- zines to promote themselves.

In this issue we start with The Mineralogica l Record, certainlyone of most well known magazinesdedicated to our hobby!

Tom & Scott

Cover of the first issue of The Mineralogi-cal Record published in 1970.

The Mineralogical Record logo.

Covers of some recent issues of The Mineralogical Record.

Journal presentations:The Mineralogical Record


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20 A D S M I N E R A L S I S S U E# 3


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22 C O L L E C T O R I N T E R V I E W M I N E R A L S I S S U E# 3

ting you havent frequented the field to collect minerals yourself?

AG: Perhaps it is an ensemble of reasonssuch as claustrophobia, too much study-ing physics, and making high energyexperiments at particle accelerators indifferent places in the world. I was al-

ways worried by accidents and I thoughtit to be a bit unnecessary to die for crys-tals.

TP: Have you ever made specialbuying trips around the world, orcombined mineral acquisitions withtravels for your professional activi-ties?

AG: Of course, whenever I was reaching some new place for my work, Universi-ties, conferences, etc., I tried to contact

dealers in my free time. When I was liv-ing in England it was given to me, very kindly, a room at Electron SinchrotronNINA in Daresbury (Cheshire) were Istored a huge amount of specimens fromthe Florence Mine like blue fluorites onpink dolomite, kidney ores, brilliantquartz crystals on hematite, etc. Thismine was only a few kilometers from theLaboratory. The same in Australia wereI found some Columbites from the Spar-goville mine.

TP: Mineral specimen prices have in-creased dramatically over the years.

Has that affected your acquisiti ons? Are the majority of your good specimens from past or from more recentacquisitions? Looking at the mineral

market over the last fifty years, do you see a big increase in specimenquality or only an increase in prices?

AG: Many of my best specimens are fromrecent acquisition, recent means after1986, Yes, quality and prices have grownup together.

TP: How many specimens do you have in your collection? Is this a static number, or has your collection evol- ved, and if so, in what way?

AG: I have about 1200 specimens, of which 540 are on exposition in Florence.

No, I do not consider the number an im-portant parameter, and I am always gladto exchange and upgrade specimens.

TP: If you have to select one favorite specimen from your entire collection, which one would you pick and why?

AG: Perhaps the Ajoite N. 1438, it isan unbelievable specimen; but I havein mind many others which are moreor less equivalent. It would be a verydifficult choice. The Ajoite 1438 repre-sents the best specimen extracted fromthe Messina mine in SWA. In 2008 a mine

Aegirine, 50 cm wide, Mount Malosa, Malawi. Giazotto specimen and photo.

Gem topaz, 13 cm high, 4.5 kg, from Mogok, Myanmar. Giazotto specimen and photo.

Amethyst, 50 cm wide, Anahi mine, Bolivia. Giazotto specimen. J. Scovil photo.

70 cm wide specimen of fluorite on quartz from La Viesca mine, La Collada, Asturias, Spain. Giazotto specimen and photo.

Fluorite, 40 cm wide from Erong o, Nami- bia. Giazotto specimen and photo.

Smoky quartz with amazonite, 28 cm high, Lake George, Colorado, USA. Gia- zotto specimen and photo.


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23C O L L E C T O R I N T E R V I E WI S S U E # 3 M I N E R A L S

Native gold, 23 cm high from Brusson, Aosta, Italy. Giazotto specimen and photo.

Apatite, 11.1 cm high, Pansqueira, Portu- gal. Giazotto specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Brazilianite, 13 cm wide, Galilia, Brazil.Giazotto collection and photo.

Tourmaline, 20 cm, Nelum Valley, Pakistan. Giazotto specimen and photo.

40 cm wide plate with demantoids from Sferlun, Val Malenco, Italy. Giazotto specimen and photo.

Barite, 38 cm wide, Monte Masu, Sardinia, Italy. Giazotto specimen and photo.

Amethyst, 28 cm high,Vera Cruz, Mexico. Giazotto specimen and photo.


24/28


Quartz variety prase, 20 cm wide, Serifos, Greece. Giazotto specimen and photo.

Scheelite and cassiterite on muscovite, 25 cm high, Xuebaoding, China. Giazotto specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Amethyst, 60 cm high,Vera Cruz, Mexico. Giazotto specimen and photo.

Iconic specimen of sulphur on aragonite, 25 cm wide, Cozzodisi mine, Sicily, Italy.Giazotto specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Gemmy cuprite 10 cm wide, Onganja, Namibia. Giazotto specimen and photo.

48 cm monster tourmaline with feldspar and quartz, So Jos da Safira, Brasil.Giazotto specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Spessartine with smoky quartz, 41 cmwide,Tongbei, China. Giazotto specimen.

J. Scovil photo.

Tourmaline, 30 cm high, Paproc, Afghan- istan. Giazotto specimen and photo.


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25C O L L E C T O R I N T E R V I E WI S S U E # 3 M I N E R A L S

Aquamarine with muscovite, 32 cm high, Nagar, Pakistan. Giazotto specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Tourmaline, 41.2 cm high, Pederneira mine, Brazil. J. Scovil photo.

Tourmaline, 28.5 cm high,Coronel Murta, Brazil. Gia-

zotto specimen and photo.

Heliodor, 34.2 cm high, Volo-darsk Volynskii, Ukraine. Giazottocollection. J. Scovil photo.

Tourmaline, 22.5 cm high, Cruz-eiro mine, Brazil. Giazotto collec-tion. J. Scovil photo.

Tourmaline with quartz, 55 cm high, Pe-derneira mine, Brazil. Giazotto photo.

Gypsum on aragonite, 24 cm wide, Cozzodisi mine, Sicily, Italy. Giazotto collection. J. Scovil photo.

Heliodor, 19 cm, Fitampito, Madagascar.Giazotto specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Morganite, 25 cm wide, Urucum mine, Brazil. Giazotto collection and photo. Brazilianite, 13 cm wide, Galilia, Brazil.Giazotto collection and photo.

Tourmaline, 27 cm high, Cruzeiro mine, Brazil. Giazotto collection. J. Scovil photo.

Kunzite, 30 cm high, Resplendor, Brazil.Giazotto collection and photo.

Famous aquamarine "Emperor of India", 32 cm high, 9.8 kg, Paplam Patti, Karur, India. Giazotto collection and photo.

Fluorite with quartz, 21 cm wide, Planggenstock, Switzerland. Giazotto specimen. J. Scovil photo.

Rhodochrosite, 21.6 cm wide, Sweet Home mine. Giazotto coll. J. Scovil photo.


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lorry fell into a hole in the road whichturned out to be the entrance toa large geode filled with Ajoite speci-mens. The quality of Ajoite inclusionsin quartz was outstanding, much betterthan those found in the previous Ajoite

discovery also at the Messina Mine many years ago. This specimen (60 kg) wasleft in place because it was too big andrecovery extremely difficult becauseit was hanging from the geode ceiling.

When the geodes smaller specimens were all recovered, then the recovery

of the last large one started. The minersput car tires under the specimenand slowly crushed the surrounding rocks until the specimen fell head downon the soft rubber, without any damage.The miners called this specimen theFallen Angel. As it is possible to ad-mire from the pictures, the elegance andthe power of this specimen are outstand-ing.

TP: There are many tourmalines andberyls (especially morganites) in yourcollection. Are these your favorite

minerals?

AG: Yes, these crystals are beautifully colored, with very appealing matricesand combinations of other pegmatiticminerals very appealing too. Gem crys-tals can also be cleaned easily becausethey are very hard, and therefore muchbetter preserved.

TP: You are a famous physicist andfather of the Virgo project. Can

you tell us in simple words about your work, scientific interest, andVirgo?

AG: Thank you for the famous that Ido not deserve. With this project weare trying to detect for the first timeGravitational Waves (GW) with purposeof starting a new way of observingUniverse i.e. by means of GW insteadof Electromagnetic Waves. Observa-tions with GW is crucial because it isthe only way we have for observingBig Bang at times close to zero time,at times close to the so called Planckstime (10 -44s); there is no other way.In conclusion, we aim to create a new astronomy.

TP: Even though your collection is very valuable, you decided to show itto the public. This is a commendabletask that is unfortunately not verycommon among collectors. Can youtell us about the special exhibition in

Firenze? Is it temporary, or will it stay there for long time?

AG: It was a very fortunate chain of events and in particular the will of Gio-

vanni Pratesi, President of the Natural

History Museum of Florence University, who pushed for having Cristalli at la Specola . Public viewing is very varied,ranging from young people in schools, totourists. The reaction to what they see isleft written in books at the show en-trance, a typical one is now I knowthat God exists . People ignore the exis-tence of this kind of Nature and whenthey see it, they are very shocked. It isnot permanent, but I guess that Cristalli

will be there for more years to come.

TP: Many of u s have thought, What will happen to my col lection when I pass?. Your collection has special museum and scientific value. Have you made plans for the collection after

your death (of course we wish you 150 years!)?

AG: Thank you, I deserve it Seriously though, it is a difficult question. PerhapsI will consider selling it before my finaldestination, or cutting it in quarters formy four children, but Ill never donate itto some institution. Who knows?

TP: In addition to the exhibition of your collection in Firenze, we under- stand it is also available on-line forthose who cannot travel to Italy. Areall specimens from your collection

shown there?

AG: Yes, look at www.giazotto.com , my old site, recently updated, contains moreor less all Cristalli's specimens plusothers I have at home.

TP: A few years ago an exceptionalbook about your collection was pub-lished. Can you tell us about this pro-

ject?

AG: Yes the book is Cristalli, done toget-her with Giovanni Pratesi and FedericoPezzotta with photographs from Jeff Sco-

vil and myself. The book contains pictu-res of my collection with the purpose of showing large, high quality specimens,and also for showing the artistic con-tents of them.

TP: Adalberto, thank you very muchfor the interview and good luck with

new acquisitions to your collection.We hope you find that 30 cm phos-

phophyllite on matrix!

Interview: August 2011

Adalberto Giazotto with his famous aquamarine Emperor of India". J. Scovil photo. Fluorite on calcite, 35 cm wide, La Collada, Spain. Giazotto specimen and photo.

The Cristali exhibition in the La Specola building of the Natural History Museum, Flo- rence University. J. Scovil photo.

Morganite with albite, 38 cm wide,Urucum mine, Brazil. Giazotto specimen.

J. Scovil photo.

Tourmaline, 30 cm high, Paproc, Afghan- istan. Giazotto specimen and photo.


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27A D SI S S U E # 3 M I N E R A L S

Crystallized gold from the Round Mountain mine, Nevada, USA. Size 5 cm. Miners Lunchbox specimen. J. Callen photo.

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