On Friday morning, February 6, I had the opportunity to attend The Arthur Roe Memorial Micromount Symposium held in the Tucson Convention Center and part of the Main Show. Roe’s interest in micromounts was developed during his early interactions with Lazard Cahn and the Colorado Springs micromount group (precursor to CSMS). Later in life Roe was instrumental in organizing the micromount symposium at the Tucson Show and, after his death in 1993, the annual event was renamed in his honor. Roe also was an early inductee into the Micromounters Hall of Fame. Roe’s son Nick introduced the Symposium and announced that the University of Arizona Alfie Norville Gem and Mineral Museum had received a donation of over 9,500 micromounts collected by Arthur “Art” Roe, along with a $1.6 million endowment for conservation and education, all from the family of Dr. Roe and his wife, Barbara.
Alfredo Petrov led off the Symposium presentations
with a fantastic description of collecting microminerals from the flanks and inner
workings of volcanoes: Volcanic Fumarole Minerals in Japan. I mean he
was stomping around in a gas mask and insulated hazmat suits to collect in the
dangerous sulfur steam (and who knows what else) fuming from these vents.
Personally, I prefer my volcanoes dead before hunting for minerals.
Alfredo Petrov.
John Rakovan is one of the better-known mineralogists in the U.S. (and probably the world). After a distinguished career in “mineralogy and crystal chemistry” at Miami University (Ohio), New Mexico Tech pulled a real coup in 2022 and lured him to Socorro as State Mineralogist and Senior Mineral Museum Curator (a position formally held by Virgil Lueth). Tech is home to the well-known New Mexico Mineral Symposium held each November (Nov. 1-3, 2024). I first “knew about” Rakovan due to his regular contributions to Rocks and Minerals magazine, an international, bimonthly publication for mineral enthusiasts and professionals. For the last 23 years he has also served as the magazine’s executive editor.
Rakovan’s presentation entitled Mosaic and Split Crystals was, to say the least, fascinating. My two thoughts about the talk: 1) I might have had a better understanding of mineral crystallography if Dr. Rakovan had been my mineralogy instructor; and 2) the presentation reminded me of why I became a soft rocker and paleontologist!
Vandall King was not physically present at the Symposium but with the wonders of technology presented on Granite Pegmatites of the Northeast USA--- complete with fantastic photos of pegmatite minerals. King has served in a variety of positions, in fact a big variety, in the mineral world but may be best known for his volumes describing minerals of Maine (among his 250 peer-revied publications. He also discovered the minerals perhamite, mccrillisite, perloffite, mangangordonite, and gainesite.
- The micromounters room overlooking the Main Show ballroom.
The Tucson micromounters also have a room dedicated to their scopes and minerals. In other words, micromounters can sit and chat and look at specimens “all day long.” Micromounters also have the reputation for bringing along flats of specimens (rocks with micro minerals present) for the freebie table. I spent a few hours during two different days in the room trying to learn—everyone is super friendly. I was also able to “collect” from the overflowing flats several specimens that hopefully I can prepare and contribute information to my Blog (listed below).
Bawana Mine, Beaver County, Utah
Type Locality Whelanite
Cu2Ca6[Si6O17(OH)](CO3)(OH)3(H2O)2
Dulcinea de Liampos Mine, Copiapo Province, Chile
Dioptase: CuSiO3 · H2O
East Grants Ridge, Cibola County, Arizona
Topaz: Al2(SiO4)(F,OH)2
Spessartine: Mn2+3Al2(SiO4)3
??
Byssolite (actinolite): Ca2(Mg4.5-2.5Fe0.5-2.5)Si8O22(OH)2
Wheal Phoenix, Cornwall, UK
Chalcosiderite: CuFe3+6(PO4)4(OH)8 · 4H2O
Lake Pleasant, Maricopa County, Arizona
Ferrierite-Na?: (Na,K)5(Si31Al5)O72 · 18H2O
Hummingbird Springs, Maricopa, Arizona
Maricopaite (Type Locality): Pb7Ca2(Si,Al)48O100 · 32H2O
Cave Springs, Esmeralda County, Nevada
Searlesite: Na(H2BSi2O7)
Gold Hill, Tooele County, Utah
Austinite (Type Locality): CaZn(AsO4)(OH)
Potosi Mine, Mineral County, Nevada
Scorodite: Fe3+AsO4 · 2H2O and other minerals
Dry Hill Mine, Cumbria, UK
Campylite, var. of Mimetite: Pb5(AsO4)3Cl
Lovelock Mine, Churchill County, Nevada
You call it
Mohawk Mine (which one)