TUCSON 2020: A MENAGERIE OF MINERALS

The” granddaddy” of the Tucson venues is the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show® (TGMS) that finishes off a a spectacular two weeks plus of smaller ancillary shows.  I usually attend the opening day (February 13^th this year) and the crowd was large (perhaps average?) and the displays were spectacular.  The Show, as do most club shows, features both guest display/competitive cases of minerals, and booths occupied by several hundred dealers (~250).  A big difference between TGMS, and a local show, is that high-end dealers from around the word bring their finest specimens to Tucson.  These often are minerals that the general public may never have the chance to observe again. The prices for these museum-quality specimens ranges into the tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars and are usually marked POR (price on request).  For me, and perhaps most attendees, just ogling at these one-of-a-kind mineral specimens is well worth the entire trip to Tucson.

 

It also should be noted that TGMS sponsors several lectures contests (Mineral Photo Contest), and symposia (see below) throughout the week and these are free to the public (admission charge for the display parts of the Show).  There is a Saturday night program with a silent auction, buffet dinner, an awards ceremony, and auctions.  On Thursday the Micromount Room was open and Friday brings the Author Roe Memorial Micromount Symposium with talks by Joe Marty (Rare and not so rare minerals), Herwig Pelckmans (Titanite and friends), and John Jaszcak (Micromineral graphite). 

At the Saturday evening program John F. Rakovan, Professor of Geology and Environmental Earth Science at Miami University, was awarded the prestigious 2019 Carnegie Mineralogical Award honoring his outstanding contributions in mineralogical preservation, conservation, and education.  In addition, the journal Mineralogical Record was honored as it celebrated 50 years of publication.

 

Symposium & Guest Speaker Schedule “WORLD CLASS MINERALS”

A Short History About How Impossible Crystals Came to Earth From Outer Space: Luca Bindi

Burrage Legacy and the Ram’s Horn: Raquel Alonso-Perez

The Super-Deep Origin of World Class Diamonds: Evan M. Smith

Distrito Galeana Chihuahua- Setting an example in promoting Education, Economic Development and Tourism for a Better Future in Mexico: Alberto Ray

Mineral Photography Seminar: Jeff Scovil 

Augmenting Museum Experiences with Digital Outreach Education: Aaron Celestian,

Diamonds in the Rough: Claire Mitchell

The Lore of Lithium: Ihor Kunasz

Genetic Classification of Inclusions in Quartz: Jaroslav Hyrsl

Forensic Mineralogy: New Insights into Wire Silver Formation: John Rakovan

World Class Gems at the Taj Mahal: Dona Dirlam

Where Do You Find Wood With Turquoise Already In It?: Morrie Elmer

A Mineralogist Looks at Minerals: What is a World Class Mineral: Peter J. Modreski

Metals as World Class Mineral Specimens: Terry Wallace

Precious Cut:  What and How: Victor Tuzlukov, G.G.

Hydrothermal Crystal Growth: Vlad Klipov

Since it is really tough to write much about the TGMS, most of this article is composed of photographs.  But remember: 1) the Show is overwhelming with the number of exhibits and cases; 2) virtually every mineral is behind glass and that fact affects photographs.

A recent addition to the "state fossil" category is Tylosaurus, a Mosasaur (marine lizard) collected from the Cretaceous Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Formation of western Kansas. Specimens of the State Marine Fossil are nicely displayed at the Sternberg Memorial Museum at 
Fort Hays State University (where I first started).

The Main Show occupied the Convention Center main floor and a ballroom upstairs housed most of the jewelry booths.

This beautiful elbaite variety of tourmaline from 
Minas Gerais in Brazil could be purchased for &14,000.

Joe Dorris from the Colorado Springs Club 
operates Pinnacle 5 Minerals and mines amazonite (microcline feldspar) in the Lake George area west of the Springs.  This specimen is from the famous Smoky Hawk Claim.

This crystal of blue beryl from Afghanistan could be in your collection for $10,000.

The geode crackers are the busiest booth at the Show.

Vanadinite on barite from Mibladen, Morocco.

Beryl v. aquamarine, fluorite, and muscovite from Hunza Valley, Pakistan.  Collector's Edge, POR.

The bookseller had lookers all day.

Wendell Wilson of the Mineralogical  Record is not only a famous mineralogist but a fantastic artist.

Rhodocrosite from the Sweet Home Mine, Colorado.  Purchase at Collector's Edge, Golden, Colorado.

Quartz v. amethyst collected in Wilkes County, Georgia.

Azurite and malachite collected in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

World Class minerals from New Mexico.

World Class minerals are often collected in the 
mines at San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

World Class minerals from Colorado.

Green "balls" of prehenite collected in Mali and exhibited by the University of Arizona.

Pyrite and calcite from the Honqwei Iron Ore Mine, China.

So, Tucson 2020 has passed, and the planning crew is already at work with 2021 Show.  With all the vendor movement associated with the Tucson City Center Show, and the fact that the El Conquistador Hilton is several miles north of downtown Tucson, next year’s events certainly will be “different.”  But, the minerals will be on display, and available for purchase, so life goes on.  I look forward to a return visit.

TUCSON: A SCHOONER OF SCHUETTEITE

To start off in this day of sheltering, the WORD OF THE DAY is
Alliteration: the repetition of identical initial consonant sounds in a group of words, words such as a SCHOONER OF SCHUETTEITE. No, the mineral does not come in a beer glass; however, at the time of this writing I was getting cabin fever and wished that I had a cold schooner of IPA.

Many rockhounds have a nice, bright red crystal of cinnabar, a mercury sulfide [HgS], in their collection (see Posting November 30, 2012), with many coming from recently opened localities in China.  Cinnabar crystals are impressive if for nothing else than the brilliant color.  Other collectors shy away from cinnabar as they fear absorbing mercury into their body.  However, MinDat notes that mercury sulfide is relatively insoluble and generally safe to handle.  However, do not inhale dust associated with the crystals and always wash hands after handling the specimens (that warning goes with essentially all minerals).


Mercury minerals were quite valuable during the various “gold rushes” to the western U.S.  The minerals were heated to produce raw mercury which was then used to obtain fine-grained gold gathered from screening activities.  It seems when raw mercury was mixed with the “fines” the result was the formation of an alloy called amalgam.  This amalgam (gold plus mercury) was easy to separate from the other fines composed of heavy minerals such as iron minerals.  The end product was a “hunk” of gray amalgam that was then heated in some sort of a retort pot allowing the mercury to evaporate; however, due to the difficulty of locating raw mercury most miners tried to  catch the fumes in a condenser and cause the mercury to reprecipitate for another use.  In most placer mining the process was much less than perfect and the mercury escaped into the atmosphere and water and pollution was rampant.  Mercury seems to stick around “forever” and so the polluted water and soil remains.  The miners who “cooked” the mercury also had a variety of health problems including losing their teeth.


Cinnabar is/was the major mercury producing ore while China and Kyrgyzstan are/were the last two countries mining ore.  Most mercury today is produced as a byproduct of precious metal mining or recycled from previous mercury-containing products (many electrical switches).


Mercury has not been mined in the U.S. since 1992 with peak production in 1877.  Major mining districts included the Terlingua District in Texas, and several districts in California and Nevada.

Schuetteite is an interesting mineral that is often found with cinnabar and chalcedony in old mercury mining districts in the arid deserts and ranges of the western United States.  In the original description of schuetteite (Baily and others, 1959) noted that it was a common secondary alteration product found on: 1) dumps at old mercury mines; and 2) bricks from furnaces that refined mercury ore. In natural occurrences schuetteite, a mercury sulfate [Hg₃O₂(SO₄)] formed by direct oxidation of cinnabar, a mercury sulfate (HgS), by oxygen-bearing surface water with sunlight providing the energy.


Schuetteite is identified by its yellow to yellow-orange color, its occurrence as very thin encrustations on cinnabar, a measured hardness of ~3 (Mohs), and if need be, an x-ray comparison with synthetic schuetteite.  It can be confused with other mercury alteration products such as kleinite, a mercury oxychloride (see Posting November 24, 2019).  However, kleinite and the others contain chlorine that causes the yellow mineral to darken in sunlight.  Schuetteite does not contain chlorine and therefore retains the original yellow color.

`

Thin, earthy, yellow, crusts of schuetteite surrounding tarnished cinnabar on an opalized matrix of rhyolite (or some other volcanic rock).  Bottom photomicrograph width ~1.6 cm.; top 1.3 cm.

My particular specimen obtained in Tucson  was  collected from dumps of the Silver Cloud Mine, Ivanhoe District, located near Midas, Nevada north of Battle Mountain.  It was one of numerous small mines operating in the area (1940-1944) and production was minor.  Most of these miners were looking for cinnabar in opalized Tertiary (Miocene) volcanics—rhyolite, andesite, and “tuffs.”  Concentration of cinnabar was deposition by circulating hydrothermal fluids (Thediggings.com).  In reality, it seems to look much like other pits dug in the desert volcanics that I observed while hunting for fossils.
  

REFERENCES CITED

Bailey, E.H., F.A. Hildebrand, C.L. Christ, and J.J. Fahey, 1959, Schuetteite, a new supergene mineral: American Mineralogist: Journal of Earth and Planetary Materials, v. 44, no. 9-10.


So, in this time of “sheltering in place” a little learning is a wonderful thing.  But, my mind tends to wander and all of a sudden a tune from the past pops up. 
  
Apologies to Hank Williams Jr.

Don’t ask me,

Mike why do you write?

Why do you Blog?

Why must you fuss about rocks that are bright?

If I’m down in a honky-tonk

And some dufus is given me friction

I’ll say leave me alone

I’m blogging all night long

It’s a rockhound tradition.

OK, that was pretty sad! Sorry.

TUCSON: A MASS OF MILLERITE. NICKEL SULFIDE

Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, shift your energy to what you can create.   Roy T. Bennett

This is an interesting time that we are now experiencing, one that is pretty frightening to those that are “most venerable” (over 70) but also for many children and for those who have lost their source of income.  I am a fairly social person so separation from my friends, especially the morning coffee group, has been difficult!  Well not really difficult as that term is reserved for those suffering medical difficulties, for those who are hungry and without shelter, and for our medical workers who are doing a terrific job under not very good conditions.


So, I am pretty much sheltered in place and making the best of it.  I have been madly borrowing e books from our Colorado Springs library and digesting about one per day.  Of course, I have started on a regime of “easy reads”—mostly pulp westerns, especially those authored by Louis L`amour.  As a geologist I love reading, and dreaming about, his vivid descriptions of western landscapes, rocks, and minerals (but not always accurate).  At least once per day I pick up Nathaniel Philbrick’s Mayflower and read a few pages.  I am learning much from this tome but in today’s world I want something light where the winner always kisses the horse, wins the lady, and rides off into the sunset.

Besides reading, I am trying to offer a few more Postings on the Blog; however, this has been a biggly problem.  For the last two weeks my battle has focused on a computer that has been “acting up.”  After hours and hours of uninstalling and reinstalling software and fooling around it finally crashed and burned and I abandoned it when the cursor disappeared.  So it was off to the computer store with the credit card and a plead to the tech people to transfer over as much as possible (although I have all photos and docs saved on external drives).  It took them several hours for the transfer as the old one suffered numerous “freeze ups.”  Then the real fun started as my attempt to restart the digital camera and new software tested my patience.  In addition, due to the pandemic the internet seems “overloaded” and my signal is quite weak so the massive Office suite of software will not load.  However, these malfunctions are minor compared to the medical and economic difficulties around the world.  So, I yell at the computer, but try and remain “happy” and satisfied.  My family and I are well, and I urge readers to take precautions and stay well.


The Tucson shows have been over for seven weeks or so and most local shows and meeting have been cancelled/postponed (The Colorado Mineral and Fossil Spring Show in Denver to May 15-17).  But, I have several miscellaneous specimens dragged home from Tucson so there is much to examine and study. 


A long time ago, at least in Blog time (June 2014), I posted, as part of three articles on nickel, on a really interesting nickel sulfide [NiS] called millerite.  Now millerite is not a rare mineral; however, the collecting localities I described were from Paleozoic carbonates in the Midcontinent Region of the U.S., essentially from Michigan through Kentucky.  And, the millerite crystals are found encased in concretions/geodes (such as the famous Keokuk Geodes).


I am still not certain that a definite answer exists as to the source of the sulfides but Wenz and others (2012) believed the ores of the Mississippi Valley-type Deposits (such as the Viburnum Trend, the New Lead Belt in the Missouri Ozarks) are the result of the introduction of sulfides into lead- and zinc-rich ore fluids that in turn were derived from the 1460 Ma Precambrian basement rocks.  The sulfides may have been derived from local organic- and sulfur-rich carbonate rocks.  Galena (lead) and sphalerite (zinc) are non-complex sulfides and are the stable forms in a low temperature environment (the depositional environment of the Mississippi Valley-type Deposits).  Marcasite and pyrite, common simple sulfides found in the carbonate rocks of the Midwest, may be the result of precipitation from marine waters (I think).

Another thought seems to center around fluid movement from the deep basins present in the Midwest to the rims of the basins during later orogenic events.  In this model the source of the metals is leaching from sedimentary and other rocks (Precambrian basement?) at higher temperatures in the deep basins, and then migrating to shallower levels where they can combine with free sulfide ions, probably resulting from the action of sulfide-reducing bacteria in the shallow rocks (model from Stefano, 2014, discussion on www.Mindat.com). 

Millerite is a fascinating mineral, at least to an old paleontologist like me.  The crystals are clusters, or individuals, of shiny metallic acicular crystals that are pale brass-yellow when fresh but tarnish to an iridescent “black.”  The clusters of millerite in concretions often appear, at least to me, to be a “cat’s whisker.”  However, the specimen I picked up in Tucson is completely different from the concretion specimens in that the millerite is a mass of hair-like acicular crystals---hundreds of them.  They have a measured hardness of 3.0-3.5 (Mohs), are metallic opaque, and have a greenish black streak.

Masses of millerite crystals. FOV ~2.1 cm.

The specimen I purchased has a locality listed as Biggsville Quarry, Carthage, Illinois; however, that might be the Biggsville Quarry Cessford Construction, or the nearby Cessford or Media quarries.  All are aggerate quarries of Paleozoic carbonates with minor amounts of the sulfides chalcopyrite, sphalerite, pyrite and millerite.

  

REFERENCES CITED 

Wenz, Z.J., M.S. Appold, K.L. Shelton and S. Tesfaye, 2012, Geochemistry of Mississippi Valley–type Mineralizing Fluids of the Ozark Plateau: A Regional Synthesis: American Journal of Science, v.312, no. 1, 22-80.

STAY SAFE, BE WELL

 Don't be pushed around by the fears in your mind.  Be led by the dreams in your heart.         Roy T. Bennett

TUCSON MINERAL CITY AND BERZELIANITE

Sometimes a beer advertisement just brings a smile to my face and makes me forget, for a moment or two, anything about a virus.  However, it can't help me with a crashed and burned computer, a digital camera that will not load on the new computer, and a network connection that is next to nothing and will not allow much formatting.  But, I am an optimist and am more concerned about the lack of equipment and materials for our health care workers. 

As stated in other recent posts the Shows of Tucson seem to be moving north along Oracle Road, the major north-south path leading north from downtown.  One of the new venues is The Mineral City Show centering around Oracle and Lester and anchored by a number of high-end dealers selling some very beautiful, and expensive, minerals (Collector’s Edge from Golden, Colorado, is an example).  It was also the home of Joe Dorris and Pinacle 5 minerals from Colorado Springs (one of 4 or 5 Shows for Joe), and for Leonard Himes from Colorado Springs. The dealers (I count around 40) are spread out along a couple of streets and locating specific dealers is a confusing proposition, as is parking.  I presume that logistics will be better next year.

Semi permanent, or so it seems,Tucson show home of the Arkenstone Fine Minerals operated by Rob Lavinsky.

Calcite, fluorite and chalcopyrite collected Hardin County, Illinois priced at $450..

Fluorite collected August 26, 1019. Large right specimen priced at $12,500 but take home the left crystal for $10,000.

Nice ferberite (iron tungstate) crystals from the Rock Currier Collection.

 Essentially the dealers next door at La Fuenete de Piedras seem part of The Mineral Show but with their own name!  This venue is essentially one large building anchored by The Arkenstone but also containing Jeff Scovil Photography and the Rock H. Currier Collection.  Mr. Currier (and Rock was his real name) left, upon his death, an absolutely amazing collection to MinDat.org to disperse and use the resources to support the web site.  I enjoy looking at some of the Currier minerals as they are “top shelf” and many are of museum quality; however, I certainly cannot afford a purchase.  But perhaps, hopefully, many will end up in museum displays that are open for the public.

Matrix India may have the largest building in the Show but I was unable to visit all of the widely scattered dealers.

Always room for some amethyst.

Maybe a froggie or two?

Jöns Jakob Berzelius (1779-1848) was described by Wilson (1994; an amazing piece of work) as one of the greatest mineral chemists whoever lived.  That is quite a statement!  Berzelius was born in Väversunda Sörgård, Sweden, a product of three generations of clergy on each side of the family.  Now, I presume that father, grandfathers and great grandfathers all expected a great theological future for Jöns.  Surprise! His grades in theology were not so hot but he excelled in the natural sciences.  So, the entered the great University at Uppsala and confused the faculty.  Seems he was considered gifted but undisciplined (I was probably considered average and undisciplined). But, all was not lost since he was very good in inorganic chemistry and mineralogy, and as an addult became one of the greatest mineral chemists whoever lived. He received that accolade, since MinDat.org noted that Berzelius was the father of analytical chemistry, inventor of chemical symbol notation. and discoverer of selenium (Se), cerium (Ce), silicon (Si), thorium (Th), titanium (Ti), and zirconium (Zr), in addition to other elements that he gave to his students to work on.  Those discoveries certainly would qualify him as the greatest but my guess is that students don’t learn these facts in modern mineralogy courses!

Trofast (see suggested reading below) noted that: “Sweden has a long tradition of mining and assaying. As early as the mid–17th century, Sweden had a chemical laboratory devoted to the study of minerals and ores and the art of mineral analysis. The resulting research was often used to improve mining, iron, and steel production. During the first decades of the 19th century, Jacob Berzelius’ laboratory in Stockholm became the center of these activities. From 1803 to 1843, Berzelius (1779–1848) and his Swedish pupils J.A. Arfvedson, N.G. Sefström, and C.G. Mosander discovered and characterized no less than 10 new elements. Many of these discoveries were made using a simple instrument—the blow pipe.

So, the great James Dwight Dana named the mineral berzelianite in Jöns’ honor.  OK, who has heard of berzelianite?  Not this ole softrocker.  Maybe Yooper Pete up at the USGS?  I saw a specimen of berzelianite in Tucson that was once in the collection of V.J. Hoffmann and decided it was coming home with me, mainly due to its composition, a copper selenide [Cu₂Se].  Seems like that may be the only selenide mineral (selenium as the negative anion) in my collection.

Berzelianite is rare in the mineral record and was first described from the Skrikerum Mine located in south central Sweden; a mine “famous” for producing rare selenides.  Besides berzelianite, the Mine is the Type Locality of three other rare copper-silver selenides: crookesite, eucairite, and selenojalpaite.  The minerals are found in fracture-fillings hosted by vein calcite associated with hydrothermal alteration. Copper was first mined ~1779 and some exploration and mining, mostly for selenium, continued until the end of the 1800s.
                                          

Two photos (BAD--see comments. Better photos later) of berzelianite veins in calcite.  Better photos later.  There also my be other selenide minerals present.  Maximum width of lower specimen ~1.8 cm.

Berzelianite is a soft (~2.0-2.5 Mohs) metal with a metallic luster, a lead-gray to blue gray to black color (but shiny when fresh), an irregular fracture, and is opaque.   It occurs as microcrystals disseminated in a carbonate matrix (calcite at the Type Locality).  At times it almost appears as a “stain” within the matrix and is difficult to distinguish from other selenides.

REFERENCES CITED AND SUGGESTED READING

Wilson, W.E., 1994, The history of mineral collecting1530-1799: The Mineralogical Record, v. 25, no. 6.

Trofast, Jan, Berzelius’ discovery of selenium in:

“Undersökning af en ny Mineral-kropp, funnen i de orenare sorterna af det vid Fahlun tillverkade svaflet.” [Investigation of a new mineral body found in the impure varieties of the sulfur produced at Fahlun---according to Google translate]

Published Online: 2011-09-01 | English DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ci.2011.33.5.16

Chemistry v 33, issue 5