Herminorphite from the Esmeralda Mine, Durango, Mexico; 6 imches across. Hemimorphite is a zinc silicate which usually occurs in white crystals. Sometimes it also occurs in this blue form, called botryoidal. I have not seen another specimen of the botryoidal type as fine as the one illustrated. |
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Barite crystal with many small calcite crystals at the base. The piece comes from Elk Creek in South Dakota and measures 4 inches across. It was obtained from the mineral dealer Ken Roberts of Twain Harte, California. Other than South Dakota, beautiful barite crystal come from Engrand, Sardinia, Romania, and Colorado. |
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An aquamarine crystal set naturally in feldspar, mica and small black tourmalines; 3 1/4 inches across. It comes from Saidu, Pakistan. Pakistan has recently become an important site for gem minerals such as aquamarine. I believe this is related to the opening of the Karakoram Highway through the Himalaya Mountains. Looking for crystals, I rented a car in Islamabad and took this highway nearly to China and back. I feel quite lucky to have survived the various dangers of that trip. Pete Bancroft brought this particular specimen back from Pakistan. I traded it from my friend Jack Halpern who had bought it from Bancroft. |
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