Esoterizona Stones 41

Fluorescent Minerals

The following specimens come from a small abandoned copper mine in the Santa Rita Mountains.  They feature two forms of calcite - white veins through gray matrix and druzy coatings of small orange crystals, both of which are fluorescent red under shortwave UV.

3.5"x2"x0.5"

6"x4"x1.5"

7.5"x5"x2"

Esoterizona Stones 40

The following specimens are a few of those acquired at this year's Tucson gem show.

Vanadinite, ACF Mine, Mibladen District, Morocco. 5"x2"x1.5"

Malachite, Mashamba West Mine, Katanga, Dem. Repub. of Congo. 2"x2"x1.5"

Anhydrite, Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico.  4"x1.5"x1"

Creedite, Mina Navidad, Abasolo, Durango, Mexico. 2.5"x1.5"x1"

Alto

The ghost town of Alto is just barely visible in the valley several miles ahead.

The town site and many of the nearby mines were first established in the late 17th century by Spanish Jesuits.  All that remains now are the ruins of an early 1900s adobe post office.

The remains of Alto can also be just barely visible when up close.

If you didn't know it was there, you might not know it was there.

Esoterizona Stones 39

Fluorescent Minerals

The following specimens are a few of those acquired at this year's Tucson gem show.

Fluorescent red calcite on quartz, from Cambokeels Mine, Weardale, England.  According to mindat.org, the mine began operation in 1847, and was mined first for lead, then fluorite until its closure in 1989.  The outer workings still feature an arched stone adit specifically designed for horses - there are some great pictures of this mine out there if you search.

Also with nicely formed and phantomed hexagonal "nailhead" crystals - was being sold as a white light specimen, not advertised as fluorescent. 4"x2"x1.5"

Fluorescent green hyalite opal from Zacatecas, Mexico.  This material is so reactive, the fluorescence is clearly visible even in a brightly lit room.  It also belongs to a rare breed of fluorescent minerals that are considered "daylight fluorescent." This means the opal will appear mostly clear under indoor, incandescent lighting, but viewing the specimen in sunlight provides enough UV to activate the fluorescence and make the opal appear green.

This piece also stood out for the large, greenish-clear nodule of opal right on top of the specimen - the opal from this locality tends to occur more commonly as a coating rather than a standalone "crystal." 3.5"x2"x0.5" (sawcut back)

Close up of the nodule, which has a diameter of roughly 10mm.

Fluorescent yellow scapolite (meionite) from Quebec, Canada, shown under longwave UV.  While this piece didn't have as much scapolite as some (see Esoterizona Stones 31), under shortwave it looked like this:

An unusual quantity of bright blue tremolite is visible along with the scapolite.  This blue has previously been misidentified as diopside.

Same specimen, white light. 3.5"x3"x2"

2016 Tucson Gem & Mineral Show

Pass for the main Gem & Mineral show at the Tucson Convention Center.

The theme of this year's show was "Shades of Blue: Minerals of the World."

Arizona has a wide variety of blue minerals.

The Fluorescent Mineral Society also had a display featuring the numerous red (calcite) and green (willemite) combinations of Franklin & Sterling Hill NJ.

Specimens and set-up courtesy of George V. Polman.

For more details about the display, see polmanminerals.com.

Esoterizona Stones 38

Fluorescent Minerals

Fluorescent calcite from Williamson County, TX.  The bands fluoresce creamy yellow and white (appears more blue in the photos) under short, mid and longwave light.

These fist-sized rocks came from massive boulders unearthed by heavy machinery while clearing a new roadbed.  When cracked open with a sledgehammer, the grimy limestone exterior gave way to the beautiful crystalline banding within.

The fluorescent calcite is also highly phosphorescent.

The banded crystals are even more clear in this piece.

Rockhounding, Texas-style:

Esoterizona Stones 37

Fluorescent Minerals 

Fluorescent minerals from the Tres Hermanas Mountains, Luna Co, NM.

This piece is calcite (white), aragonite (green), and caliche (orange).

Same specimen, white light.

This specimen contains chalcedony and aragonite; both fluoresce green in response to shortwave UV.  Portions of the aragonite also fluoresce yellow-white, and are phosphorescent.  The chalcedony is emdedded in the matrix, upper left.

Same specimen, white light.  The clusters of aragonite crystals make these easy to spot in daylight, but not all of them have strong fluorescent response.

Orange caliche and a green that could be aragonite or also caliche.

Same specimen, white light.