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Inner Mongolia
This is the best example of this greenish-purple fluorite habit that I have seen from Huanggang.
Its size, overall form, and most impressively the number of crystals on the piece make it stand out considerably beyond any of the others I have seen. Although there are a couple minor chips (the main one to note is on the top-most crystal, this is visible in the pictures), that aside there are no really broken crystals-- quite a feat when you consider the number of crystals, and that they have to be painstakingly etched and then physically uncovered from beneath a quartz coating.
There were a few smaller pieces available in Tucson this year, and I bought the best I saw. Even among that lot, almost all had significant damage issues. To find a piece of this size in this condition is truly unusual.
The color is better in sunlight-- there is a deep blue-green underglow. The crystals seem much paler in the pictures, because the lightly etched surfaces reflect light during the process of photography.
One of the top examples from a recent find, this is a quartz specimen unearthed sometime within the last 2-3 months. A number of pieces were made available by a wholesaler in Denver, but these were cherry picked by a (discerning) friend before the show, upon their arrival at the wholesaler’s warehouse. While the majority of what I saw in Denver were single crystals, many with chips or damaged terminations, the specimens here represent some of the best from the find.
More importantly, the arrangements are quite beautiful—this one is a pair of intersecting crystals forming a perfect X (the crystals are not in the same plane, however).
The crystals themselves are a very interesting color—their cores have segments that are are somewhere between a light smoky and amethystine, with a thick outer rind that is colored faintly green by what I assume are microscopic hedenbergite inclusions. The end result is this very unusual greenish quartz. Unlike many earlier finds, the surfaces on these pieces retain a high luster (not etched, as with most others) but still display the complex faces that care a characteristic of quartzes from this mine.
I got over 70 pieces in this cherry picked lot, this one stood out even among those.
A beautiful example of hedenbergite included quartz, crowning a pair of calcite aggregates composed of hundreds of tabular calcite crystals, also colored light green by hedenbergite inclusions.
The quartz crystals are entirely damage free. As you can see in the image where I am holding the specimen, a part of the matrix is broken off on the side, but this is not noticeable when positioned for display, (for example, as shown to the right of this description)
A very unusual and aesthetic piece from a recent find, the only one that really caught my eye.
A beautiful and complete ilvaite crystal, with a terminated quartz crystal backing up to, and passing through part of it.
The ilvaites from this location rank among the largest and most well-formed from anywhere. They were also among the first mineral specimens to be collected at the site.
The vast majority are just single crystals, and this piece is a pretty decent size. What most sets it apart from the thousands of others however, is the beautiful quartz combination that imparts a much more sculptural and balanced appearance.
As is typical of most of the larger pieces, the surfaces are not smooth and glassy (for example, like obsidian.) The piece has a decent luster, but the faces are a bit etched.
A cabinet specimen featuring a very lustrous, colorless fluorite crystal on matrix. The piece is not perfectly transparent, though it is clearer than the pictures show.
The position, size and luster of the fluorite give the specimen a particularly strong visual impact, compared to others from the mine. On a lighter note, the two crystals on the upper right and left almost give it the appearance of having cat-like ears.
This specimen is best displayed as shown in the images to the right and below. It needs to be angled back a bit, as the top of the crystal has bits of matrix sticking to it, where the was probably once another crystal (see bottom right image). There is no damage to the piece, however.
A spectacular hemispherical cluster of radial quartz crystals colored green by hedenbergite inclusions, some capped by greenish-white calcite.
There is not a single broken crystal anywhere on the display face, which I credit to the thicker-than-usual crystals-- the examples I have seen in the past are typically composed of much narrower crystals, meaning that there is almost always damage.
This is admittedly not cheap, but it is exquisite. If you are a collector of Chinese minerals or are putting together a suite of Inner Mongolian specimens, This would be a good one to consider. I have seen thousands of quartz specimens from this mine, and hundreds of hedenbergite included pieces, and this one stands out in both categories.
One of the top examples from a recent find, this is a quartz specimen unearthed sometime within the last 2-3 months. A number of pieces were made available by a wholesaler in Denver, but these were cherry picked by a (discerning) friend before the show, upon their arrival at the wholesaler’s warehouse. While the majority of what I saw in Denver were single crystals, many with chips or damaged terminations, the specimens here represent some of the best from the find.
More importantly, the arrangements are quite beautiful—this one combines a pair of terminated crystals, with quartz plates at their intersection.
The crystals themselves are a very interesting color—their cores have segments that are are somewhere between a light smoky and amethystine, with a thick outer rind that is colored faintly green by what I assume are microscopic hedenbergite inclusions. The end result is this very unusual greenish quartz. Unlike many earlier finds, the surfaces on these pieces retain a high luster (not etched, as with most others) but still display the complex faces that care a characteristic of quartzes from this mine.
It is interesting to note that what appears to be calcite on this specimen, is actually quartz that has pseudomorphed calcite.
There are a couple minute dings, though the luster and complex faces tend to hide this.
I got over 70 pieces in this cherry picked lot, this is one of the nicest.
One of the surprises at Huanggang was the presence of aquamarine crystals. Although the mine cluster is exploiting a skarn, there is a pegmatite intrusion present. It is from that pegmatite that these aquamarines have been coming.
This is the largest single crystal of aquamarine that I have seen from the location. About a year and a half ago there were a few clusters available, but no more were found. Along with those clusters, I would consider this to be one of the more notable aquamarine examples from the location, typically the crystals stayed under 5 cm, with 6.5 cm being considered very large.
The termination is deep blue, the rest (as with all of these) has a whitish rind-- probably due to etching that is causing the light to diffuse
A top example of purple fluorite from Inner Mongolia. To begin with, purple fluorites have been somewhat uncommon at the locality-- the vast majority have been colorless. Although with etched surfaces, this piece has exceptional transparency and color-- simply holding it beneath a ray of sunlight causes to piece to glow.
The back is etched, but there is no damage to the piece. It does not take much for the piece to completely light up.
For its form, lack of damage, smooth ( and not oiled!) surfaces, and most of all, because of its depth of color, I consider this to be an exceptional piece.
A large cabinet specimen of quartz, hosting several ball-shaped aggregates of blady hematite. These bear some resemblance to the 90"s and early 2000"s pieces from Jinlong Hill, but the quartz is more transparent and arranged somewhat differently.
I saw a few lone hematite clusters in Tucson, but no good matrix pieces, like this one.
An interesting and different specimen from new finds at Huanggang.
A specimen of the much sought after yellow sphalerite, feauturing a sizable crystal on matrix. These remain among the most sought after items from the mine, and are among the most scarce-- I saw fewer than 4 in Tucson, and the prices ranged from $2,000 to $6,000 and none were 2 to 6 times better than this one....
The surfaces are slightly etched, so the color is a bit lighter, though the piece s damage free. The appearance in the pictures is under normal lighting, the color is better in a case setting.
A cabinet specimen from a recent find of fluorite that differs from earlier Inner Mongolian finds. This cabinet specimen hosts a line of green cubic crystals, with a brownish outer layer that gives them a sort of outline.
The fluorite crystals are situated on a quartz coated matrix. An interesting thing to note about the piece is the presence of several flattened quartz prisms against the matrix.
A single pink fluorite octahedron on a matrix of weathered hedebergite and quartz.
This is among my favorites from the group, a few of which are posted here.
This is perhaps one of the most beautiful and exciting things to come from Huanggang yet. This combination of habit and color is perhaps the most sought after of the species, and has previously only come from the Alps and intermittently from Pakistan. They are certainly unique for China, a country known mainly for large plates and masses of the mineral, almost always in blues, greens or purples.
I have stabilized the matrix. These fluorites seem to form in a very harsh environment and the matrixes tend to be composed of either heavily weathered hedenbergite or ilvaite, leaving them very friable and making stabilization necessary.
A few dealers at the Munich show had specimens on display and, “the average price was about 7,000 euro for an average specimen,”according to John Veevaert’s show report That’s about $10,000...I strongly doubt those Chinese dealers paid more than I did, but I think my prices are more reasonable.
Please note that (like the pieces in Munich) these have been oiled.
One of the top examples from a recent find, this is a quartz specimen unearthed sometime within the last 2-3 months. A number of pieces were made available by a wholesaler in Denver, but these were cherry picked by a (discerning) friend before the show, upon their arrival at the wholesaler’s warehouse. While the majority of what I saw in Denver were single crystals, many with chips or damaged terminations, the specimens here represent some of the best from the find.
More importantly, the arrangements are quite beautiful—this one is a crystal with a group of quartz plates positioned attractively near its base.
The crystals themselves are a very interesting color—their cores have segments that are are somewhere between a light smoky and amethystine, with a thick outer rind that is colored faintly green by what I assume are microscopic hedenbergite inclusions. The end result is this very unusual greenish quartz. Unlike many earlier finds, the surfaces on these pieces retain a high luster (not etched, as with most others) but still display the complex faces that care a characteristic of quartzes from this mine.
It is interesting to note that what appears to be calcite on this specimen, is actually quartz that has pseudomorphed calcite.
I got over 70 pieces in this cherry picked lot, this one stood out even among those.
A cluster of steel-gray lollingite hosting a yellow sphalerite crystal. The lollingite is particularly sharp, and amazingly enough, it is not coated by arsenopyrite.
These lollingite arsenopyrite combinations are particularly rare-- to date I"ve only seen about 3.
A terminated scheelite crystal perched on a lollingite rosette. The piece is best displayed as shown to the right-- although there is no damage to the scheelite, there is an indentation where it grew against another crystal. This is shown in the bottom (side view) image.
Displayed correctly however, this is a top example of this rare combination. The lollingite rosette is complete, and the scheelite"s position perched on the rosette"s edge makes for a particularly refined appearance.
A hefty specimen, consisting of a few large lolingite sheathes, completely coated with sparkly arsenopyrite crystals, with some milky quartz crystals and fluorite scraps attached.
A great "toenail" specimen of the sought after yellow sphalerite on lollingite combination. The sphalerite is complete and damage free, and has good color.
These yellow sphalerites remain among the most sought after items from the mine, and are among the most scarce-- I saw fewer than 4 of these sphalerites in Tucson, and this price is considerably better than anything I saw at the show.
The sphalerite/ lollingite combinations are particularly rare-- most of these sphalerites occur with calcite, and quality of the sphalerites on the sphalerite/ lollingite combos is typically lacking...though that is not the case on this piece.
One of the surprises at Huanggang was the presence of aquamarine crystals. Although the mine cluster is exploiting a skarn, there is a pegmatite intrusion present. It is from that pegmatite that these aquamarines have been coming.
This is a rare matrix example, one of only about 3 that I have seen, and I have to say its overall condition is better than either of the others. The aquamarine is terminated, and of a decent size-- the others (on matrix) were basically match-stick width, and the quartz crystals on which they rested were in rough condition. Again, that contrasts to this piece, where the smoky quartz is fully terminated with lustrous lateral faces.
The termination is deep blue, the rest (as with all of these) has a whitish rind-- probably due to etching that is causing the light to diffuse.
A cabinet cluster of arsenopyrite on lollingite. From the display side, the lollingite is almost invisible, as it is so completely overgrown by arsenopyrite, but the large underlying sheaves give the piece its form.
At the moment lollingites are plentiful, but if there is one thing I have learned from nearly 10 years of observing the mineral market, it is that specimens from a particular Chinese find always end up becoming scarce, no matter how plentiful they may have once been-- just think of Yaogangxian, of the pyromorphite, the spessartine, or the (good) scheelite. With that in mind, I keep trying to buy decent examples of the Inner Mongolian production, particularly of species like lollingite, for which this occurrence represents the best-of-species find.
A pair of bright lollingite sprays perched on a bit of scheelite, from recent finds in Inner Mongolia.
These Chinese lollingites first started to appear about a year and a half ago, and have quickly been accepted as the world"s best. This is a well balanced combination specimen that features an unusual scheelite association. There are also numerous arsenopyrite prisms scattered about the sheaf-like lollingite sprays, that give the piece an extra sparkle.
One of the top examples from a find of hedenbergite included quartz made sometime in mid-2013. This piece is associated with hematite rosettes.
A number of pieces were made available by a wholesaler in Denver that year, but these were cherry picked by a (discerning) friend before the show, upon their arrival at the wholesaler’s warehouse. While the majority of what I saw in Denver were single crystals, many with chips or damaged terminations, the specimens here represent some of the best from the find.
More importantly, the arrangements are quite beautiful.
The crystals themselves are a very interesting color—their cores have segments that are are somewhere between a light smoky and amethystine, with a thick outer rind that is colored faintly green by what I assume are microscopic hedenbergite inclusions. The end result is this very unusual greenish quartz. Unlike many earlier finds, the surfaces on these pieces retain a high luster (not etched, as with most others) but still display the complex faces that care a characteristic of quartzes from this mine.
Good pyrhottite is very rare from China, until now the best known locality was Yaogangxian and pieces were few and far between.
This is a specimen from a new occurrence, it"s the only one I"ve seen from the mine, though I am told there were other (very crude) pieces found as well that didn"t quite make the cut for shipment to Tucson.
The piece consists of stacked books of pyrrhotite arranged on either side of a dark sphalerite backbone, atop which sits a cluster of intertwined fluorite cubes, richly included by boulangerite.
Apart from being a great specimen, pieces like this are exciting because they come from a location that had previously not produced specimens. The bulk of the currently available Inner Mongolian pieces come from only 3 or 4 mine clusters ( mainly Huanggang, Rongguan and Chaobuleng)-- over 200 such mines and mine clusters have been opened over the past several years. That pieces like this make it to the market means that there is a chance that a greater portion of those 200+ locations will eventually start to produce collectible specimens.
A cabinet specimen of apophyllite from Inner Mongolia. I have not seen too many of them-- there was a very small quantity of pink specimens from Chaobuleng about 2 years ago, but I have only seen a few of these Huanggang apophyllites. The only other piece I was able to get was a thumbnail.
Granted, a $30 specimen from India probably outshines this, but this is pretty d*mn good for Huanggang-- the crystals are not the largest, but there is a lot of the mineral on the piece.
An unusual fluorite from a new recent find. The color is somewhere in between blue and green-- which is favored depends on the lighting conditions.
A large cabinet specimen of lollingite from Huanggang, these first started to appear a little less than 2 years ago, and were quickly recognized as the best known examples of the species.
This is a sizable cluster of lollingite sheaves, and I have priced this considerably cheaper than it would be offered by any of the Chinese dealers in Tucson. Contacted on the reverse.
More importantly, the arrangements are quite beautiful—this one is a spray of 3 crystals-- most of what was available were just singles.
The crystals themselves are a very interesting color—their cores have segments that are are somewhere between a light smoky and amethystine, with a thick outer rind that is colored faintly green by what I assume are microscopic hedenbergite inclusions. The end result is this very unusual greenish quartz. Unlike many earlier finds, the surfaces on these pieces retain a high luster (not etched, as with most others) but still display the complex faces that care a characteristic of quartzes from this mine.
