In years past we have been in Tucson for the entire "show" - nearly a month's worth of non-stop mineral mania! However, in the past couple of years, we have been taking shorter and shorter trips. If we are going to be there any longer than a week, we have to transport our entire operation and run our auctions from there. However, going for a five or six day trip enables us to focus entirely on mineral acquisition!

          That being said, this year's Tucson show was fantastic! There were several new finds and unexpected surprises - which is always what keeps us coming back for more! When it comes to new finds there were several rare species that were particularly exciting. You can click here to go to our Tucson auctions now!

There were just a handful of manganoquadretite specimens from the Uchucchacua Mine that showed up. Manganoquadretite is a very rare silver manganese sulfarsenite and these specimens were exceptional examples of the species. There were only ten or so specimens in total, and they disappeared VERY quickly. You can click here to go to our Tucson auctions now!

Also from Peru were specimens of the newly described species anorpiment. Anorpiment is the triclinic dimorph of orpiment. The material has a greenish yellow color and is present as more or less botryoidal masses. There wasn't much of this material either and most of it was just massive in nature. There was one specimen that had nice botryoidal form however, so we were happy to pick up. You can click here to go to our Tucson auctions now!

We were very excited to see a small lot of very rare effenbergerite specimens from Wessels Mine in South Africa. Effenbergerite is an electric, royal blue barium copper silicate. Marshall Sussman had come up with a tiny lot of this exciting material. These specimens represent some of the finest examples I have seen of the species. We picked up a couple choice specimens as I doubt we will EVER see such material again! You can click here to go to our Tucson auctions now!

Marshall also had what I felt were some of the most exciting quartz specimens I saw at the show. These were tangerine colored quartz crystals from the Orange River in Namibia. These were not your typical Orange River hematite-included specimens! This material came from a small, single pocket that produced crystals with a stunning, translucent orange phantom just a millimeter below the surface. These crystals have a VERY characteristic look and are wildly aesthetic in person. You can click here to go to our Tucson auctions now!

Another exciting find that came out of Namibia were specimens of jeremejevite on foitite tourmaline matrix. Some of the best specimens had richly colored, gem crystals of jeremejevite surrounded by cocoons of tiny, intergrown tourmaline crystals. These tourmaline crystals were originally labeled as foitite tourmaline, however they are currently under investigation as a possible new tourmaline species! You can click here to go to our Tucson auctions now!

One of the serendipitous finds that we made, were a small group of stolzite-wulfenite series specimens from Malawi. There were just a couple examples in a flat of mixed specimens from Mt. Malosa. Apparently they are suspected stolzites, but without analytical confirmation, I have simply labeled them as stolzite-wulfenite series. You can click here to go to our Tucson auctions now!

Another exciting thing that was presented to us, was a couple of examples of niobaeschynite-Ce from Kamloops Mining Division in Canada. This rare species is known almost exclusively as massive material, however there was a tiny, one time find of crystalline material made recently, and we were lucky enough to be presented with a few specimens that we happily snatched up! You can click here to go to our Tucson auctions now!

While they were not a "new find" the cuprite and copper specimens from Rubtsovskoe, Russia are a "recent find" and the locality has produced some truly incredible material. While the focus was on the cuprite and copper specimens, we were sure to acquire any other rare or unusual specimens that we found. The marshite specimens from this locality are truly exceptional. There were just a handful of azurite with marshite specimens recovered, so we were quick to pick up the only one we saw! Pictured above are a fine cuprite with native silver, marshite on azurite, and a complete pseudomorph of native copper after cuprite! You can click here to go to our Tucson auctions now!

In addition to these "new finds," we came across lots of exciting individual specimens, and of course, that is what we are always on the hunt for! In the upcoming days, I will post another update with highlights of our individual specimen finds! Pictured above are a superb azurite rosette from Bisbee, a sharp single copper crystal on a partial datolite nodule matrix from Michigan, and a rare green gem diamond from Venezuela! You can click here to go to our Tucson auctions now!