Mineral Man

Despite its wide distribution in limestone and as a common gangue mineral in ore deposits, the rainbow of colors and beautiful crystal forms of calcite, from locations around the world, have made it a favorite of collectors. One such favorite is the group of calcite crystals, tipped by hematite, from the Egremont Mine shown in. . . Read More

Tales of the discovery and loss of rich gold mines such as The Lost Dutchman in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona and the El Naranjal lost gold mine in the Sierra Mountains of  Mexico, as popularized by folklorist, J. Frank Dobie, in “Apache Gold and Yaqui Silver” have fascinated many of us. An extensive list. . . Read More

Having greatly enjoyed researching and writing about ancient and recent jewelry in my blog on Garnets (Glorious Garnets) and on silver jewelry in Silver II, I decided to present in this blog, “A Gallery of Ancient Gold Jewelry”, gold coinage and art works from around the world. Despite gold’s tendency to tarnish – its metallic. . . Read More

This is the first of two Blogs on native gold. In the first I introduce the mineral and its properties, including a gallery of specimens exhibiting the crystal forms of gold and the effects of deposition conditions on forms of gold. Having just found out about it, I’ll also describe the deposition of gold by. . . Read More

This gallery of beautiful silver jewelry, coinage, and art works presents works from around the world, and spanning the ages from the 26th Dynasty of Egypt (664-525 BC) to the Art Deco Era (1909-1941 AD) [Ref 1, 2]. Works have been chosen to demonstrate the artisan’s methods of forming shapes in silver [Ref 3] by. . . Read More

This is the first of two Blogs on native silver. In the first I will introduce the mineral, including a gallery of specimens, and in the following blog, “Ancient Silver Jewelry” I’ll present examples of ancient silver jewelry, coinage, and art works, which demonstrate the innovative artisanship of early silversmiths from varied locations around the. . . Read More

In this blog, the subject is the Garnet Family and their six members, (See Figure 1), which are gemstones and mineral specimens highly prized by collectors, as well as by those that wear them, because of their colors. Their colors, as seen in Figure 1, span the rainbow, and some unexpectedly undergo a change in. . . Read More

In the presentation of photos of specimens of various garnets the source of the photo is referenced. For more or supporting images, Google the name of the mineral and the word image to see a gallery of additional images. Almandine Garnets Specimens from the classic localities of Wrangall Island, Alaska and Tyrol, Austria as well. . . Read More

In this blog post I’ll talk about the ore minerals of copper in Porphyry Copper deposits; major sources of copper; Porphyry Copper Deposits in Arizona; the formation and geology of Porphyry Copper deposits; and am including a gallery of Copper ore minerals; and lastly, discuss Peacock Copper Ore. Porphyry Copper Deposits Porphyry Copper deposits are. . . Read More

Today I want to talk about opal as a gemstone and it’s, not expected, biological role in grasses and algae. Opal as a Gemstone Gem-quality opals are characterized as Precious Opal, also called Fire Opals and Common Opals. Precious Opal as a gemstone is prized by collectors and can display all the colors of the. . . Read More