MGR05 Bismutotantalite 

(XRD Confirmed)

Antsirabé Dist., Vakinankaratra Region, Antananarivo Prov., Madagascar

10.6x 9.2x 5.8 cm

$3000

NRK2 Pyromorphite

Bunker Hill Mine, Kellogg, Coeur d'Alene Dist., Shoshone Co., Idaho, United States
8.6x 5.1x 2.8 cm

$850

A cabinet pyromorphite from the 1980's finds at Bunker Hill, Idaho.  There are a couple small bruises, but the larger crystals are all intact, and I have to say that this thing is a pretty good deal, particularly given that prismatic crystals of the slightly greenish yellow are among the most sought after from this mine.  

This is a classic specimen from a classic American locality, that also happens to be a superfund site.  A couple years ago the mining company ASARCO agreed to pay 1.8 billion USD to clean up various contaminated sites in the US, of which over $400 million was earmarked to fix damage caused by the Bunker Hill Mine and its smelter, which contaminated a lake and poisoned a river, among other things. BUT there is a silver lining to this story: we mineral people got some really great pyromorphite.

NRK3 Inesite

Fengjiashan Mine, Huangshi Pref., Hubei Prov., China

6.2x 6.4x 3.7 cm

$1350

A deep red inesite from the Fengjiashan Mine, also known as the Daye Mine.  This mine has been one of China’s most prolific specimen producers in recent years, notable for its calcites, amethysts and apophyllites, as for well being the type locality for hubeite.  Perhaps the greatest thing to come from this locality so far however, have been these inesites. 

 The best specimens come out in the 2005-2006 time period, around the time that this specimen would have been recovered.  In my opinion, these inesites represent one of the iconic finds of the Chinese mineral bonanza that has taken place over the last 14 or so years; others would include the pyromorphites, mimetites, scheelites, etc. Yet unlike some of these finds, the production of inesite was fairly short lived.

 This specimen is a complete cluster of the mineral on matrix, with small pyrite crystals scattered around the periphery of the specimen.  The color is great, in fact, if it were not for the pyrite it would be easy to mistake this for one of the 1980’s inesites from Wessels, South Africa (I should point out, that nearly 30 years later those are still more abundant than the Chinese examples). 

On that note, I will also add that South Africa’s manganese fields are the only other recent source of inesite that I can think of, though the contemporary specimens tend to lack the depth of color present in the 2005-2006 Fengjiashan specimens, and the 1980’s Wessels specimens.  Prior to that, Hale Creek in California also produced some very great pieces, with big crystals but a very light pink color.

NRK4 Manganocalcite

Neimeng, Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, China

14.8x 12.5x 9.2 cm

$1000

A very large fan shaped cluster of pink manganocalcite from a new find.  A limited number of specimens from this find were first debuted by a couple Chinese dealers at Tucson 2011, and by the end of the show all of them had been sold.

This is a fairly large, damage free example with good color.

Within the last year, this very promising area in Inner Mongolia has produced a number of new finds, including spectacular ilvaite, these manganocalcites, arsenopyrite, and dark andradite garnets.... given the species being found, one could almost call it China's version of Dal'Negorsk. 

These manganocalites seem to have been a one-time find, the ilvaites, andradites and arsenopyrites and have continued to come out, but I have seen no additional examples of this material.

NRK5 Malachite ps. Cuprite

Chessy-les-Mines, Rhone Alpes, France 

1.9x 1.6x 1.5 cm

$800

A thumbanil cluster of malachite pseudomorphs after cuprite.  This is a rather large cluster, as the vast majority of specimens from this locality are under 1 cm.

These pseudomorphs are classics, though with most recovered in the 1800's, specimens only come from old collections.  Examples of this size are also particularly hard to come by.   

NRK6 Dioptase

Tsumeb Mine, Otjikoto Region, Namibia

8.1x 5.1x 2.9 cm

$395

A cabinet specimen of Dioptase from the Tsumb Mine.  This piece has a John Betts label, indicating that it was sold by him in 2004. 

A nice specimen, at a good price-- particularly for a piece of this size, with this coverage of crystals. 

NRK7 Tourmaline

Santa Rosa Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil

8.7x 6.3x 5.2 cm

$500

A decently sized, terminated green tourmaline surrounded by a cleavlandite matrix.  There is no damage, and the crystal is very lustrous.  Pretty good, for the price.

NRK8 Quartz var. Amethyst

Valisoara, Hunedoara Co., Romania

4.5x 3.7x 3.2 cm

This thing is so purple, it makes Barney look pale and sickly.

(for those of you outside the US, Barney is a purple, talking dinosaur featured on a popular children's TV show)

It is a very old piece, with perhaps one of the most intense purples I have seen in any amethyst specimen.  These days, when you see a deep purple amethyst, it probably came from Guerrero or somewhere in Namibia or South Africa.  This piece has a deeper, and far more consistent color (as opposed to the phantoms and gradations typical of pieces from the aforementioned localities). 

The piece is accompanied by three labels, one from Kristalle, and two old labels written in German-- one from the Natural History Museum of Wein, Austria.  The labels date the piece to at least 1932, and give the locality as “Porkura, Siebenburgen,” Siebenburgen being the German name for Transylvania. 

This is an old classic, an example of material that rarely ever comes up for sale, from a locality that is long closed

NRK9 Sphalerite

Shuikoushan ore field, Changning, Hengyang Pref., Hunan Province, China 

23.8x 9.5x 5.1 cm

$500

A very rich, large cabinet specimen of red sphalerite from China.  

A few years ago, this locality began producing specimens of this material, and this is one of the best I have seen to date. 

Actually, it is quite good by the standards of red sphalerite from anywhere-- to find a specimen this rich, with crystals this size, would have been very difficult prior to this find, however even by the standards of the material coming from Shikoushan, this piece is exceptional.  The only damage is a small scuff on the matrix, though all the sphalerite on the display face seems to be intact.

NRK10 Galena

Viburnum Trend District, Iron Co., Missouri , United States

11.6x 6.1x 7.4 cm

$1400

A large and impressive galena crystal, needless to say it weighs a lot.  The specimen is complete all around, with the exception of a bit from the back corner (which does not show when displayed).  

The main crystal rests angled on its matrix, facing upwards.  These large galena crystals, when you can find them, are usually fairly damaged cubes that must be placed flat one one side to display.

Part of the reason I liked this one, is the positioning of the crystal-- it rests on its edge rather than a face, making for a much more dramatic display.  

Being galena, it is obviously very lustrous, and when it catches the light it can hold its own against more colorful pieces in a display case.

Galena is a very common mineral, specimens of this caliber are certainly not, particularly given this specie's tendency to cleave. 

NRK11 Galena

Viburnum Trend District, Iron Co., Missouri , United States

8.4x 7.8x 6.6 cm

$385

Another galena, this one an elongated, damage free crystal on matrix.

NRK12 Copper

Kearsarge Lode, Seneca Mine, Lake Superior Copper DIstrict., Keweenaw Co., Michigan

4.0x 3.7x 2.5 cm

$395

A very nice miniature of crystallized copper, with exceptionally sharp crystals.  This piece was in the Ross Lillie collection, and was collected by him at the Seneca mine dumps in 1980. 

 According to the label, this piece was most likely mined in the early 1900’s. Luckily, it somehow escaped the smelter and wound up resting in a pile of waste rock for 80 years before being found by Mr. Lillie, and then spending time in 2 Michigan collections.

It is hard to get the camera to focus correctly, as the piece is very three dimensional.  When viewed from the front, the large, very sharp crystal pictured in the last photograph really stands out.  Unfortunately, due to the camera's focus, I could only show the main crystal, or the matrix of smaller crystals... not both in the same image.

NRK13 Silver

White Pine Mine, Ontonagon Co., Michigan, United States

4.0x 2.2x 0.6 cm

$200

A nice specimen of arborescent silver, associated with minor calcite.  Specimens like this  were mined in the 1800's, and today are considered American classics.  This miniature has a nice patina, and its "branches" are particularly well defined.  

NRK14 Spinel

Mogok, Myanmar (Burma)

6.7x 4.7x 4.6 cm

$185

A deep red and very gemmy .8 cm spinel crystal on a calcite matrix.  According to the label, this piece was mined in 2004.

NRK15 Quartz var. Amethyst

Sokolovskiy Mine, near Rudniy, Kazakhstan 

5.5x 3.4x 2.3 cm

$165

A very attractive miniature specimen of twinned calcite from the Sokolovskiy mine.  The crystal shows good clarity, and is perched aesthetically on a sliver of matrix.

These calcites are from a find in the early 90's.

NRK16 Chalcopyrite, Calcite, Quartz

Boldut Mine, Cavnic, Marmures Co., Romania

6.1x 5.0x 2.4 cm

$160

A nice miniature specimen from one of the now closed Romanian mines.  This specimen consists of numerous chalcopyrite and quartz crystals on a stack of flattened calcite crystals.

I remember when I started collecting, Romanian minerals were almost as common as the comparable Peruvian material is today.  These days they are still available, but on nowhere near the same scale as before.

NRK17 Mimetite

Nakhlak Mine, Anarak Dist., Isfahan Prov., Iran

4.8x 4.4x 0.8 cm

$385

A rare specimen of Iranian mimetite.  This specimen was previously listed on my website, but it sold and I recently had the opportunity to buy it back.

Iran has yielded some of the world's finest reticulated cerussites, as well as wulfenites to rival Red Cloud and mimetites that surpass San Perdro Coralitos.

This is an example of the latter, displaying a bright orange color.  It is composed almost entirely of mimetite.

NRK18 Fluorite incl. Boulangerite on Quartz

Yaogangxian Mine, Yizhang Co., Chenzhou Pref., Hunan Prov., China

8.0x 7.5x 4.9 cm

$335

A cluster of very transparent cubic fluorite crystals perched on the edge of a double terminated quartz crystal.  

The flourites are included by thousands of hair-like crystals of boulangerite, which are easily visible thanks tot he transparency of the fluorite.

There are a few nicks on the edges of the fluorite cluster, you can somewhat see this in the picture.  Either way, I thought this was an unusual specimen for the locality-- virtually all the fluorites from Yaogangxian are purple cubes, this one had the boulangerite association, and the fluorite was aesthetically positioned on the quartz,

NRK19 Erythrite

Bou Azzer, Ouarzazate, Moroco

10.0x 9.1x 5.3 cm

$200

A cabinet specimen featuring many erythrite blades on quartz crystals.

Erythrite is a hydrated cobalt arsenate, the cobalt being the element responsible for the rich pruple color.  The best Erythrite crystals have without a doubt come from Bou Azzer, Morocco, however "blooms" of tiny crystals are also known from Australia, Canada, and New Mexico, USA.

NRK20 Coper ps. Aragonite (MATRIX!)

Corocoro, Pacajes Prov., La Paz Dept., Bolivia

5.1x 5.2x 1.9 cm

$350

 A very rare matrix specimen of a copper after aragonite pseudomorph.  Usually these are found in dry mud, which simply crumbles when the specimens are collected.  In the case of this specimen, the matrix is a sheet of copper, so it was tough enough to stay attached to the pseudomorph.  Very usual material, and no it has not been faked.  I checked carefully, and in addition to the gray sediment, there is continuous patinated copper from the crystal to the matrix.

NRK21 Cassiterite, Muscovite

Huya Village, Mt. Xuebaoding, Ping Wu Co., Sichuan Prov., China 

4.9x 4.2x 4.2 cm

$185

A choice miniature specimen, featuring a group of lustrous black cassiterite crystals on a muscovite matrix.

Cassiterite from this locality was once extremely abundant, these days, there is less of it to be found, particularly as good, damage free specimens.

NRK22 Scheelite

Huya Village, Mt. Xuebaoding, Ping Wu Co., Sichuan Prov., China 

3.1x 3.0x 1.6 cm

$150

A deep orange scheelite "toenail" from China. The crystal is complete and damage free all around, though the back is a bit less appealing than the front.

Since the early 1990's, this location has undoubtedly produced the world's best scheelite.  These days the bulk of the crystals coming out are lighter in color, though every once in a while the deeper orange specimens are brought to market.

NRK23 Red Quartzm Chalcopyrite

Fengjiashan Mine, Huangshi Pref., Hubei Prov., China

11.2x 6.7x 5.2 cm

$200

A cluster of red quartz associated with calcite and chalcopyrite, from recent finds.

There is a bit of sawing around the rear bottom edge.

NRK24 Fluorite Mine, Xianghualing Sn-polymetallic ore field, Linwu Co., Chenzhou Prefecture, Hunan Province, China

9.3x 7.0x 6.0 cm

$325

A cluster of light green, very transparent fluorite crystals from China.  These things are notoriously difficult to photograph because they are so transparent with so many intersecting faces and angles that the camera often has a hard time focusing.

NRK25 Quartz var. Amethysy

Drujba Mine, Laki Dist., Southern Rhodope Mountains, Bulgaria

(Mined 2006)

6.9x 6.0x 3.4 cm

$165

A nice amethyst specimen, consisting of two terminated amethyst crystals from an unusual locality.  Needless to say, these are not often seen for sale.

NRK26 Ixiolite (Scandian)

Namivu, Alto Ligonha Dist., Zambezia Prov., Mozambique

1.8x 1.6x 0.8 cm

$85

A hemispherical (sort of) thumbnail specimen of this rare scandium bearing mineral.  Decent size, and particularly free of damage.

NRK27 Topaz

Xuan Le, Thanh Hoa Prov., Vietnam

2.7x 1.8x 1.2 cm

$85

A thumbnail specimen of Vietnamese topaz.  This crystal was found in an alluvial deposit, as evidenced by the rounded edges and cloudy surfaces.  The crystal actually appears to be very gemmy on the inside, but again, years of abrasion  by waterborne particles have given it this appearance.

An interesting piece, from an unusual and seldom seen locality. 

NRK28 Ottensite

Qinglong Mine (Dachang Mine), Dachang Sb ore field, Qinglong Co., Qianxi'nan Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, China

4.8x 3.7x 1.7 cm

$200

An exceptionally rich specimen of this rare antimony sulfide, from the type and only locality.  Ottensite usually occurs on stibnite, as is the case here.

As I said before, this specimen is exceptionally rich.  The specimens I have seen in the past usually consist of thin, powdery coatings of the mineral; on this piece, the ottensite is present as thick crusts and masses interspersed among many small stibnites. 

NRK29 Quartz, Chalcopyrite, Galena

Boldut Mine, Cavnic, Marmures Co., Romania

12.8x 8.8x 5.8 cm

$400

A nice cabinet specimen of quartz with chalcopyrite and minor galena.

I remember when I started collecting, Romanian minerals were almost as common as the comparable Peruvian material is today.  These days they are still available, but with the majority of the mines in the area now closed, they are available on nowhere near the same scale as before.

NRK30 Cuprite

Chessy-les-Mines, Rhone Alpes, France 

1.0x 0.8x 0.7 cm

$85

An octahedral crystal of cuprite from a classic European locality.  The majority of the pieces I have seen from this location have pseudomorphed to Malachite, but this one has not.

These are classics, though with most recovered in the 1800's, specimens only come from old collections.  

NRK31 Cuprite

Chessy-les-Mines, Rhone Alpes, France 

1.0x 0.7x 0.7 cm

$85

An octahedral crystal of cuprite from a classic European locality.  The majority of the pieces I have seen from this location have pseudomorphed to Malachite, but this one has not.

These are classics, though with most recovered in the 1800's, specimens only come from old collections.  

NRK32 Calcite, Fluorite on Quartz

Boldut Mine, Cavnic, Marmures Co., Romania

6.1x 5.5x 2.2 cm

$165

A specimen of honey colored calcite crystals on quartz, with a single fluorite cube perched on one of the calcites.

I remember when I started collecting, Romanian minerals were almost as common as the comparable Peruvian material is today.  These days they are still available, but with the majority of the mines in the area now closed, they are available on nowhere near the same scale as before.