A spectacular example of ludlamite, from what is undoubtedly the best of species find made at the end of 2019.  There was a single pocket found, I obtained the first (and in my opinion) finest batch of specimens shortly after the discovery-- the miners initially did not realize the significance of their find; they put together this batch then distributed the remainder among themselves as keepsakes. Over the subsequent weeks, a couple European dealers hunted down the remaining pieces, but the first batch up for sale had the best pieces. 

A very large specimen of ludlamite from the Brazilian Amazon, near the border with Colombia.  This is an exceptionally large and rich example of the species with an almost wet luster. In the page introduction I wrote at length about why they're special, repeating the same text in every individual description would just screw up the formatting and probably be annoyingly repetitive.... but I will say: you would be hard pressed to find more ludlamite on a single specimen anywhere else. A couple minor blemishes, saw marks on the side.

A large and exceptionally rich cabinet specimen of clinoatacamite, hosting numerous dark green clusters of the mineral set against a matrix covered by blue chrysocolla over quartz.

 

I purchased a large lot of Lilly Mine material while in Peru, the bulk of the specimens were mainly just druses of quartz over chrysocolla or malachite, though there were a small quantity of these very rare clinoatacamite specimens as well.

 

The majority of the examples I have seen have the crystals somewhat jumbled together, or set against dark green malachite matrixes.  As a result, the crystals can be hard to properly appreciate.  The contrasting background and distinct nature of the crystals and crystal clusters make the clinoatacamite on this piece easier to discern and appreciate.

 

This is one of the two best clinoatacamites from the lot (the other being specimen 14PE9) and an unusual example of the intersection between rarity and a macroscopic mineral that can actually be called aesthetic.  

This is my favorite piece from the trip, a terminated quartz crystal with a single epidote fan clinging to the rear of the termination.  

 

This is a slightly older piece, from the find made several years ago--specimen mining at this site ran from about 1995 to 2004.  It was held back in the collection of a local dealer.

 

I have seen a number of epidotes from this location, and several epidotes with quartz, but none with the superb composition and aesthetics of this one.  Although a couple terminations in the epidote spray are dinged, this cannot be avoided with epidotes from Pampa Blanca, and surrounded by the numerous perfect ones, this is nearly invisible. 

 

The base of the quartz crystal is slanted, so for the sake of photpgraphing the piece I attached it to a base (rather sloppily) using a small stand as support.  This piece would greatly benefit from a custom base.  You can see this sloppy mounting in the third image from the top, on the right column, obviously that is not the display side...

 

All in all, this probably ranks among the best examples to come from the locality, and I would even go so far as to call it a notable piece for Peru. 

A beautiful and unusual combination specimen of lustrous ferberite on light pink and white fluorite, with quartz. These were found 4 to 5 years back-- the fluorites from this find were almost always highly etched, and combined with the placement of the ferberites, most I saw had a messy appearance and lack of focal point. 

I am going to start this off by saying that none of these large pyrites look nearly as good in pictures.  The faces on these pieces are practically mirrors, and the three dimensionality of these pieces, combined with the many reflections makes them nearly impossible to photograph. 

Simply put, this is a spectacular example of bournonite.  This piece has sizable, blocky crystals displaying excellent "cogwheel" form, with a luster that probably cannot get any better for the species.  The main crystal is well exposed, and unusual thick.

A very beautiful large cabinet specimen of cubic pyrite, aesthetically perched on a matrix of quartz crystals.  There are a couple chips, but this specimen is unusually beautiful, even considering how incredibly prolific this mine has been.  Unlike 99.999% of these, the crystals are distinct, and the quartz matrix provides a welcome contrast-- they are usually tight clusters of crystals.

A very beautiful example of bright, lustrous pyrite cubes on quartz.  These combinations are highly sought after, though I have never come across very many on any one trip-- this time i was able to get a few, of which this is the largest.  There is peripheral damage to the pyrite and a couple small chips, but the quartz crystals are intact as far as I can see-- and it displays exactly as shown.  It's a beautiful large cabinet piece.

A stunning contemporary vivianite from Morococala.  This mine is best known for the specimens it produced in the 80's, though there has been next to no production of note since then. These days, the majority of Bolivian vivianites on the market came from the Tomokoni Adit (those are the crystals on reddish-brown sandstone matrixes) with the occasional piece form Huanuni (typically a more bluish hue, on a sulfide rich matrix.)

I am going to start this off by saying that none of these large pyrites look nearly as good in pictures.  The faces on these pieces are practically mirrors, and the three dimensionality of these pieces, combined with the many reflections makes them nearly impossible to photograph. For that reason, I usually sell these at shows rather than online

A beautiful specimen with a group of lustrous black ferberite crystals (the largest a twin) with a contrasting medley of arsenic bearing minerals- jeromite, orpiment on quartz.  The "jeromite" is not actually a mineral-- it is an arsenic, selenium, sulfur glass that lacks a definite crystal structure (hence the "glass" term) best known from this mine.  In the past, I saw small single quartz crystals coated with this orange-red material, but this discovery is the first time that I have seen such rich examples.  

A massive pyrite crystal, 14.9 cm (one mm short of 6 inches) across from point to point. The main crystal sits on a sort of pedestal formed by another crystal, and is angled it such a way that the full square face of the pyrite faces pleasantly toward the viewer.  On a custom base, this would be a very impressive display! Only minor edge abrasions on the display face. 

An exceptional example of phosphophyllite from the "other" (more recent) Bolivian locality for the species.  This was my favorite from the lot, for obvious reasons.  The overall form and richness of this piece, comprised of hundreds of twinned phosphophyllite crystals, make for a particularly fine example-- certainly one of the best (if not the best) that I have seen from this location. 

A large and exceptionally rich cabinet specimen of clinoatacamite, hosting numerous dark green clusters of the mineral set against a matrix covered by blue chrysocolla over quartz.

 

I purchased a large lot of Lilly Mine material while in Peru, the bulk of the specimens were mainly just druses of quartz over chrysocolla or malachite, though there were a small quantity of these very rare clinoatacamite specimens as well.

 

The majority of the examples I have seen have the crystals somewhat jumbled together, or set against dark green malachite matrixes.  As a result, the crystals can be hard to properly appreciate.  The contrasting background and distinct nature of the crystals and crystal clusters make the clinoatacamite on this piece easier to discern and appreciate.

 

There are some blemishes to the display face, though overall the specimen is exactly as shown.

In 2006, miners at the Siglo XX (translation: Twentieth Century) Mine recovered some of the best paravauxites ever found. This specimen is on the larger side of those recovered. In addition to the green paravauxite, there is also sigloite. The two minerals differ chemically by a single water molecule. These are no longer being found. A miner had stashed a small quantity of these away, and I purchased them all.

A great example of ludlamite, from what it undoubtedly the best of species find made at the end of 2019.  There was a single pocket found, I obtained the first (and in my opinion) finest batch of specimens shortly after the discovery-- the miners initially did not realize the significance of their find; they put together this batch then distributed the remainder among themselves as keepsakes. Over the subsequent weeks, a couple European dealers hunted down the remaining pieces, but the first batch up for sale had the best pieces. 

A large specimen of ludlamite from the Brazilian Amazon, near the border with Colombia.  This is an exceptionally large and rich example of the species with an almost wet luster. Introduction I wrote at length about why they're special, repeating it in every description would just screw up the formatting.... but I will say: you would be hard pressed to find more ludlamite on a single specimen anywhere else.  

The largest known vivianites may have come from Cameroon , but the finest have undoubtedly come from Bolivia. There are 4 primary Bolivian vivianite localities: Huanuni, Lallagua, Morococala, and most recently the Canutillos Mine (aka Tomokoni Adit). Thanks to finds at Tomokoni, Bolivian vivianites have recently become more widely available, but the new pieces, with their sandstone matrixes, don’t compare. In my opinion, the best came from Morococala, and were found over a very short interval in the early 1980’s. Miners there discovered a room full of crystals, though the mine manager soon decided that the workers should not be wasting time collecting crystals, and dynamited the room. Today, Morococala vivianites are quite scarce. This is a spectacular vivianite from the mine, one of the best I have seen in years. The crystal measures 2 and ¼ inches, and has the multifaceted surfaces that Morococala vivianites are known for. This specimen was previously in the Martin Zinn collection, and is accompanied by his label. There are a couple chips on the front to edge, this is visible in the photographs. From the look of it, this happened when the crystal was excavated. Even so, this did not prevent its inclusion in the Zinn collection, and it remains a very substantial vivianite.

A beautiful example of a fluorite on a quartz cluster, from a recent find at Pasto Bueno. These fluorite has a bluish purple color, with the color concentrated near the surfaces and edges, and if you look closely there are even some phantoms near the center. The bottom of the quartz cluster is complete as well, not contacted.  A couple tiny chips on some of the quartz point.s  

A large cabinet specimen of pyrite, from a spectacular pocket hit towards the end of last year.  The pieces from this pocket has a spectacular mirror luster, and were fairly clean-- this one does have a couple spots of damage, but for the size, it's in VERY good condition.

A very well crystalized example of ludlamte, from Huanuni.  While good examples are known from Idaho, Trepca, and Santa Eualia, the Huanuni mine is generally considered to have produced the best examples of the species.  This piece has exceptionally large, deep green crystals scattered on a siderite matrix.  There are a couple spots of damage, but this still remains an exceptional example of the species-- you rarely see crystals over 1.5 cm, and even those tend to be thin, narrow little pointy things.

I am always drawn to these large pyrite cubes-- though so far this is the largest semi-lone crystal I've been able to get.  Most of the pyrite crystals from this mine are clustered rather tightly-- to find one of this size so distinct is rather unusual. 

A cabinet specimen boasting several sharp, deeply colored rhodochrosite scalenohedrons to 1.9 cm in length. Along with the rhodos are many small, colorless fluorites lying flat against a matrix coated with contrasting manganese oxides. These started coming out of Peru in the 80"s, but over the past couple years fewer and fewer have been found. This was among the best in the possession of one of the Peruvian dealers at this year"s Tucson show.

A beautiful and very rich example of ludlamite from the Brazilian Amazon.  This one is gently concave, shaped a bit like a geode. There is a lightly altered patch where the color is lighter, stabilized matrix. 

A specimen of clinoatacamite, hosting numerous dark green crystals of the mineral set against a vug lined with contrasting quartz over bits of malachite. 

 

This is one of the top two clinoatacamites from the lot (along with the first specimen on the page, which I would consider the best.)  The other specimen has more clinoatacamite and is larger, but I think this one might have better aesthetics.

 

The majority of the examples I have seen have the crystals somewhat jumbled together, or set against dark green malachite matrixes.  As a result, the crystals can be hard to properly appreciate.  The contrasting background and distinct nature of the crystals and crystal clusters make the clinoatacamite on this piece easier to discern and appreciate.

 

I purchased a large lot of Lilly Mine material while in Peru, the bulk of the specimens were mainly just druses of quartz over chrysocolla or malachite, though there were a small quantity of these very rare clinoatacamite specimens as well.

 

This is one of the top two clinoatacamites from the lot and an unusual example of the intersection between rarity and a macroscopic mineral that can actually be called aesthetic.  

 

Clinoatacamite is a hydrous copper chloride

A large cabinet specimen of pyrite, from a spectacular pocket hit towards the end of last year.  The pieces from this pocket has a spectacular mirror luster, and were fairly clean-- this one does have a couple spots of minor damage, but for the size, it's in EXCELLENT condition.  The luster is so bright, you can even read the reflection of a label off the crystal face.

A very nice silver wire from Peru.  This piece dates to the famous finds of the 1980's, and comes from an old Peruvian collection (actually assembled in Peru.)  The wire is longer (and much thicker) than the contemporary pieces found around 2005-2010, and what I find most appealing is that it doesn't have the rough, frayed appearance that other Uchucchacua silvers tend to have..

A beautiful thumbnail of phosphophyllite from Bolivia-- no description of the species seems to be complete without pointing out that the species is considered a "holy grail" of mineral collecting.

A beautiful example of a fluorite on a quartz cluster, from a recent find at Pasto Bueno. These fluorite has a bluish purple color, with the color concentrated near the surfaces and edges.  The bigger crystal has cubic green phantoms.   There are a few chips on the quartz points, the fluorites are perfect.  It's a very unusual fluorite color, the combination of green and blue-purple, with the color concentrated in the outer regions of the crystals makes them quite unlike pieces from anywhere else. 

A big enargite specimen from a very small recent find in Peru, of a style that has not been found in years.

 

Enargite specimens are primarily known from Montana, Taiwan, and a couple localities in Peru.  The first two locations have not produced specimens in decades, and the Peruvian mines have only produced small quantities of exceptionally ugly examples for the last several years.

 

This is a very rich specimen, the best example from a very small recent find.  It all looks somewhat jumbled in the pictures, but the crystals appear much more distinct in person, and the piece more three dimensional overall.

 

Saw marks on the back.

A great example of ludlamite from a find made in late 2019 that was arguable the best of species find. This is one of the more modest pieces from the find, but do not let that fool you--even this is exceptional from the species, and pieces like this have always been few and far between. In Tucson, from a "reasonably priced" dealer, something like this would likely be priced anywhere from $2300-$2800

A large cabinet sized plate of pyrite with an exceptional mirror luster, from a pocket collected towards the end of 2015.   There is a bit of associated chalcopyrite on the top. Not entirely perfect, but the piece is as shown.  Contacted on the reverse.

A large quartz scepter from Pampa Blanca, best known for its epidote and Japan law twins.  This is without a doubt one of the larger "scepters" I have seen from Peru, and I was a bit shocked to learn its origin, (this is very uncharacteristic of Pampa Blanca) but I showed a couple dealers in Peru, and they all agreed that the locality was correct.

 

There are little bits of green malachite here and there, and on the shaft near the termination interesting growth faces can be seen (see close up image of termination).  There is a sizable chip on the back of the termination, though from the front it cannot be seen.  

 

At least in my experience, this is the best (and largest) quartz scepter that I have seen from Peru.

This was one of the surprises from the trip-- rhodochrosite from Pasto Bueno.  This locality is famous for having produced spectacular rhodochrosite specimens in the 1970's, but has produced almost none of this material for much of the last 40 years.  On visits over the last 3-4 years however, I had seen small bits of rhodochrosite-- usually tiny loose cleavage fragments, but never anything worth purchasing.  This time, I came across a few decent specimens-- they were found nearly a year ago and held back.  This was the best piece from the group.

An exceptional cabinet ludlamite, with the main crystal group measuring 2.1 cm across, and several other crystal groups scattered about the matrix.

This is one of the best ludlamites I have seen in a long time. The specimen is very well balanced, with the crystal cluster positioned centrally on its matrix. The beautiful green of the ludlamite contrasts nicely with the pyrite and wavellite on the matrix.

Good ludlamite has only come from a few localities worldwide- Rapid Creek in the Yukon, Lemhi Co. in Idaho, Santa Eualia in Mexico, and Huanuni. None have produced good ludlamites in years (ludlamite has not been found at Huanuni for 6-7 years now.)

Even when this material was being found, pieces of this caliber were never common.

A classic Bolivian vivianite form the Huanuni mine. In the words of another dealer, this is what Bolivian vivianite looked like before the 2004 Tomokoni Adit find made collectors accustomed to pointy crystals with sandstone matrixes. Crystals like this remain rare. This one is damage free and terminated, lacking any of the chips or nicks that are virtually always present on these specimens. It is quite sizable as well, and is beautifully perched on a pyrite plate. Huanuni is one of three "classic" Bolivian vivianite localities, the other two being Llallagua and Morococala. This is a beautiful specimen, an example of material that does not come up for sale often in this size and quality. I personally don’t think that the newer specimens, with their sandstone matrixes, compare to these older pieces. I would estimate that this piece dates to the 1970’s, at least.

The second of only two augelite pieces I selected, this one has a few very large crystals perched on a quartz matrix.  The main crystal has either etching or chipping on the bottom corner-- it's a bit hard to tell which, and it gets sort of lost in the bits of quartz druzy that are also present on the crystal. Either way, the piece is exactly as shown, and the position and size of the augelite makes it stand out above the usual messy quartz plates, with smaller, randomly interspersed augelite crystals.

An exceedingly rare matrix specimen of xenotime from Brazil. There is a new crop of xenotime crystals available at every Tucson show, some years they are bigger, and some years they are tiny-- but they are always just single crystals.  Matrix specimens are almost unheard of, especially with xenotime crystals of this size.  This one appears to have been naturally rehealed midway along its length, and is perfectly terminated.  The geminess and sharpness of the quartz (with its whispy rutile inclusions) tat comrise the matrix doesn't hurt either.  If you collect Brazilian minerals, you will probably realize how special this is-- it's certainly not as flashy as a tourmaline, but to my mind, it is much cooler.

A beautiful fluorapatite specimen from finds made last yea at the Kami Mine in Bolivia.  This level of completeness is almost impossible to find-- most pieces were damaged by the extensive dynamite use.  This example has a bit of partial quartz, and the apatite crystal is backed by siderite--the crystals from this pocket have a weird pseudo cubic appearance.  The color of this apatite is very pale-- and it appears palest in daylight (or daylight equivalent lighting) and has the greatest saturation under incandescent lighting (though it is still quite pale, even then).  Once again, finding anything this complete is very very difficult! If you would like videos taken under a specific type of lighting, feel free to send an e-mail.

A nice fluorapatite specimen from finds made last year at the Kami Mine in Bolivia.   This example has couple pale crystals sharing a matrix with partial quartz crystals, and brown siderite crystals with an odd, pseudooctahedral appearance.  The color of this apatite is pale and varies with lighting-- it appears palest in daylight (or daylight equivalent lighting) and has the greatest saturation under incandescent lighting (though this is still quite pale as well!)  If you would like videos taken under a specific type of lighting, feel free to send an e-mail.

Simply put, an exceptional example of nikishcherite, with a few ball-like clusters of hexagonal crystals on matrix.  Neat the bottom of the specimen, there is also another area covered with darker hexagonal crystals of the mineral.

This species is the iron rich analogue of shigaite, and was first described in 2001 from specimens produced during a single find that occurred in 2000.  At the time, there were estimated to be fewer that 200 specimens in existence— this recent find only bumps that up by a very small number. 

Virtually all of what was found in the original discovery back in 2000 were thumbnails. most without matrix.  To have a specimen of this size with this much nikischerite on it is virtually unheard of.  

A large pyrite specimen from the Racracancha mine.  Racracancha has produced mainly cubic pyrite, virtually always with striated faces,  and this is a particularly large example. 

For the size , it is in remarkably good shape—I see only ONE spot of damage on the display face, it is the corner of the largest crystal (this is visible in the pictures.) Obviously, the larger a specimen is, the greater the chances that it will be damaged.  The greater area alone accounts for much of this increased probability, though there is also an increased difficulty of extraction.

Racracancha is a long abandoned mine, which around 2007 was rediscovered by local miners who for the last few years have been working to extract mineral specimens.  The mine is most notable for its striated pyrites, included calcites, and manganocalcites. 

The back is mostly crystallized as well.

A exceptional pyrite specimen from Peru, I would say this thing is probably one in 10's of thousands.  To begin with, octahedrons are the least frequently encountered of the main pyrite habits at Huanzala, with pockets generally only encountered every couple years. Then, quartz associations have always been very rare here-- there were recently some more available thanks to a 2017 pocket, but it has always been a difficult thing to find from Huanzala.  The quartz adds a nice degree of contrast and separation between the pyrite crystals, making it somewhat different from the usual, tightly packed clusters.  Lastly, the luster is pretty good, and the pyrites are damage free!  All this combines to make a specimen that is seriously at least 1 out of tens of thousands-- and I would know, considering how much of this stuff I've seen over the years of traveling to Peru! 

A rich fluorapatite specimen from finds made last year at the Kami Mine in Bolivia.   This example has a number of crystals with varying levels of completeness, on matrix of partial quartz crystals.  The color of this apatite is pale and varies with lighting-- it appears palest in daylight (or daylight equivalent lighting) and has the greatest saturation under incandescent lighting. If you would like videos taken under a specific type of lighting, feel free to send an e-mail.

A rare specimen of Peruvian gold, on matrix.  Although gold specimens from Peru are rare, there are extensive gold deposits scattered throughout the country, and ironically, you are more likely to see Peruvian gold in the form of an Incan artifact, than in its natural state.

 

Although there are a number of large gold mining operations in Peru being operating by multinationals, the Yangas area is worked by hundreds of small scale miners, without the aid of heavy machinery-- that's why every once in a while, something like this can be preserved.

 

A really large pyrite specimen from Huanzala, this is from a recent discovery that has associated calcite.  The crystal above the main one has an etched surface (see closeup) and there are some cracks running along the side (but it's stable.). I like to list all the deficiencies, but at the end of the day it's quite an impressive display (especially for this price!) and the pictures show exactly what you will get.  

A great example of ludlamite from the 2021 find in Brazil.  This one has a slightly concave matrix that gives a bit more of a pocket-like feel. Excellent luster!

A very large and rich ludlamite specimen from Brazil.  This one has a couple spots of damage near the top and bottom edges-- I've tried to highlight them a bit in the pictures.  Regardless, the thing is huge and has an incredible amount of ludlamite on it.  This could even trimmed further into a few pieces..... saw marks on the back. 

A nice rhodochrosite with relatively large scalenohedral crystals (compared to most of what I've seen)  for the locality, all with good red color. This one dates to at least the 90's.

A large cabinet specimen from the world famous Huanzala Mine, showing the bright luster that the locality is famous for.  

 

This specimen displays well from multiple angles, with good  3-dimensionallity, sharpness, and a lack of damage.  The arrangement of the crystals gives it a sort of sculptural appearance. 

 

The flattened area on the far left of the specimen is not damage, rather the crystals appear flattened, as if they grew up against another surface.

 

As with most of the iconic mines in Peru, Huanzala has now come under largely foreign ownership, and there is increased mechanization.  I was told by a few dealers that less and less is now coming out of this one prolific mine, as both mechanization and company policy have severely limited the number of specimens that are able to leave the mine.

An exceptionally rich specimen of this rare thallium bearing mineral, hosting numerous bright crystals sprinkled on a matrix of matte gray sulfides and dark orpiment.  

An exceptional example of phosphophyllite from the "other" (more recent) Bolivian locality for the species.  This was my second favorite from the lot.  The overall form and richness of this piece, comprised of hundreds of twinned phosphophyllite crystals, make for a particularly fine example.

A sizable cluster of ludlamite crystals from the best of species find made at the end of 2019. Despite being one of the most prolific producers of this mineral, crystals from here rarely top 1 cm.  In fact, that's usually the case for most locations, be it the old Idaho pieces, or those from Santa Eualia, Brazil, or Trepca (those localities probably account for 98% of what's ever available). By comparison, this is quite large! Like most from the discovery, this one has had some sort of oil applied.

An exceptionally rich ludlamite specimen with top luster-- it almost looks wet!

A superb pink fluorite, with a yellow core from the Huanzala mine. While sulfide minerals are plentiful from Peru, fluorite has been produced only intermittently. Of these, the pink variety from Huanzala is the most sought after, and since their debut in the early 1980’s, specimens have only rarely been encountered, and very rarely come up for sale. This is a perfect, damage free octahedron resting on a scrap of cubic pyrite crystals. Upon close inspection, numerous glitter-like pyrite microcrystals become visible UNDER the surface of the crystal. This is about as big as these pink Hunanzala fluorite crystals get.

A very large spray of ludlamite crystals from what is undoubtably the best of species find, made late last year. Miners at the site unearthed a single pocket of crystals during routine blasting, most were smashed to bits, but a number of spectacular pieces were also recovered.  This is one of the more modest ones, though it is considerably more affordable than equal pieces that I saw in Tucson-- and the couple examples that have made it onto the internet are "POR".  This one does have a couple small scratches and chips, but again, it is basically the same as pieces that were selling for 2500-3000 in Tucson. 

Not the biggest, but probably one of my favorites in the update.  Very very rich with a top luster that almost makes it look wet!