Fine Minerals Available
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ID: 23089
Mineral Species: Copper
Source Region: Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan, USA
Provenance: Dave Matak Collection
Dimensions: 17 cm x 36 cm x 9.5 cm, with custom base
Photo Credit: Tom Spann
Description: The Lake Superior Copper District, located in Michigan’s remote and scenic Keweenaw Peninsula, has the world’s largest concentration of naturally-occurring metallic copper, and has a rich history, both human and mineralogical. From the first published reports of the Keweenaw’s copper riches in 1841 by Douglass Houghton to the close of the Calumet and Hecla Company’s operations in 1968, the Copper Country produced over 11 billion pounds of copper! Specimens of crystallized copper, universally-regarded as the world’s best, have been prized from the Keweenaw for over 200 years. One very, very rarely sees a Michigan copper of this size, quality and magnitude on the market today. This is a significant specimen than stands out compared to the literally tens of thousands of crystallized copper specimens that have been produced from Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula. The huge size of the crystals (over 7 cm!) combined with their sculptural arrangement and superb patina make this a truly special copper. A hallmark of any serious mineral collection, crystallized copper specimens from Michigan's Upper Peninsula have been in strong demand by collectors for generations, and this piece shows why that is so. This specimen was a highlight of the collection of Ernie Schlichter (1929-2007), a well-known Massachusetts mineral dealer and collector who specialized in Michigan copper. The variety of crystal forms is noteworthy on this specimen as well- the largest crystals (typical of large Michigan copper crystals) are complexly-twinned and modified tetrahexhedra, yet there is a second generation of very sharp dodecahedral crystals which have overgrown the large primary copper crystals, in places in an apparent epitaxial relationship. This is a stunning crystallized copper from an iconic locality, and is a piece of American mineral history.
ID: 49412
Mineral Species: Azurite, Secondary: Malachite
Source Region: Milpillas Mine, Cuitaca, Mun. de Santa Cruz, Sonora, Mexico
Provenance: Stephen M. Neely, M.D. Collection
Dimensions: 4.5 cm x 9.5 cm x 7.5 cm, with custom base
Photo Credit: Jeff Scovil
Description: This azurite and malachite specimen from the now-famous Milpillas mine in northern Mexico comes from a very special pocket found at the mine a number of years ago which produced what many consider to be the finest azurite and malachite specimens from this world-class locale. Featuring very lustrous, sharp midnight-blue azurite crystals perched on a contrasting matrix of bright green fibrous malachite, this specimen is outstandingly aesthetic, and surely ranks in the top 1% of specimens ever found at this highly productive locality. Illustrated in Mineralogical Record Midwest, pg. 164 and Mineralogical Record Vol. 42, pg 264.
ID: 65390
Mineral Species: Fluorite, Secondary: Calcite
Source Region: Argentiere basin, Mont Blanc Massif, Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, Rhone-Alpes, France
Provenance: Jim & Gail Spann Collection
Dimensions: 6 cm x 3.7 cm x 4.3 cm, with custom base
Photo Credit: Tom Spann
Description: Fluorite (reddish pink transparent octahedral, 37x38x36mm, DT) on Calcite (white "paper spar" blades up to 28mm) with Calcite (colorless rhombohedral, 14x9x9mm) and micro-xls of Epidote? (dark green elongated, 2mm DT) and Calcite? (golden yellow) Possibly discovered in 1989 by J.F. Charlet & P. Chilini. 1) MinRec 38:487 (Nov. 2007), Fig. 16, MAD case; 2) Wilensky Fine Minerals book, Vol. 3 (2008), p.11, top.
ID: 65414
Mineral Species: Elbaite
Source Region: Pederneira Mine, Rocket Pocket, Doce valley, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Provenance: Jim & Gail Spann Collection
Dimensions: 9.7 cm x 2.3 cm x 2 cm
Photo Credit: Tom Spann
Description: Tourmaline var. Elbaite (green) included by Tourmaline var. Rubellite (red) (the "Blue Space Shuttle")
ID: 65450
Mineral Species: Silver, Secondary: Copper
Source Region: Wolverine Mine, Wolverine, Houghton Co., Michigan, USA
Provenance: Jim and Gail Spann Collection
Dimensions: 8.1cm x 9.5 cm x 6.6 cm, with custom base
Photo Credit: Tom Spann
ID: 66499
Mineral Species: Scheelite, Secondary: Beryl v. Aquamarine
Source Region: Mt. Xuebaoding, Pingwu Co., Mianyang Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China
Provenance: Jim & Gail Spann Collection
Dimensions: 11.9 cm x 15.9 cm x 16.8 cm, with custom base
Photo Credit: Tom Spann
Description: several Scheelite (red orange, transparent to translucent bipyramidal, up to 78x76x72mm) and Beryl var. Aquamarine (bluish white etched internally, pinacoidal, up to 81x63x30mm) stand on a bed of Muscovite (whitish grey foliated booklets)
ID: 66512
Mineral Species:Fluorite
Source Region: La Viesca Mine, Huergo, La Collada mining area, Siero, Asturias, Spain
Provenance: Jim and Gail Spann Collection
Dimensions: 19.2 cm x 34 cm x 13.3 cm, with custom base
Photo Credit: Tom Spann
Description: Fluorite (pristine blue cubic transparent, up to 73x70x43mm, phantomed purple & blue with stepped edges & complex mosaic surfaces) ) on Quartz pseudomorphed after Calcite (box-work bladed) with micro-xls of Sphalerite (gemmy tangerine orange, some pyramidal) and Chalcopyrite (iridescent elongated)
ID: 66538
Mineral Species: Elbaite, Secondary: Quartz
Source Region: Paprok, Kamdesh District, Nuristan Province, Afghanistan
Provenance: Jim & Gail Spann Collection
Dimensions: 18.5 cm x 10.5 cm x 8.1 cm, with custom base
Photo Credit: Tom Spann
Description: Elbaite (blue capped red Rubellite, 87x34x33mm) on Quartz var. Smoky (dark gray, DT with multiple points, up to 101x76x70mm) included by Lepidolite (purple) with Albite (white) and Microcline (tannish white, 48mm wide)
ID: 69267
Mineral Species: Acanthite, Secondary: Calcite, Quartz
Source Region: Mina de Cata, Guanajuato, Mexico
Provenance: Jim & Gail Spann Collection
Dimensions: 9.7cm x 5.3 cm x 3.4 cm, with custom base
Photo Credit: Tom Spann
ID: 66671
Mineral Species: Spodumene v. Kunzite, Secondary: Albite
Source Region: Nuristan Province, Afghanistan
Provenance: Jim & Gail Spann Collection
Dimensions: 19.5 cm x 24 cm x 18.5 cm, with custom base
Photo Credit: Tom Spann
Description: Large upright violet kunzite xl (125x70mm) with two vertical tectonic rehealed cracks and sharp chisel point termination, on clevelandite (with wisp climbing up xl face), which encases another partially exposed kunzite xl prone between large quartz xls; tiny pale green elbaite tourmalines scattered on top and back
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