Updates to the Maryland Minerals Website

We have recently added approximately  30  new images to the  Maryland Minerals Slideshow component of the Maryland Minerals website. Most are listed below. However, we have chosen not to add several that are not listed below. To the best of our knowledge, these occurrences have yet to be reported and will be the subject of one or more future posts.

Amphibole Anthophyllite: Bare Hills Copper Mine, Baltimore
Cummingtonite: Bare Hills Copper Mine, Baltimore
Chalcedony: Bare Hills Serpentine Barrens, Baltimore County
Beryl: Arundel Greenspring Quarry, Baltimore County
Garnet and Scapolite: Arundel Greenspring Quarry, Baltimore County
Goethite and Quartz: Arundel Greenspring Quarry, Baltimore County
Almandine (Garnet Group): Rt. 795 Construction, Owings Mills Baltimore County
Clinozoisite: Milford Mill Quarry, Baltimore County
Almandine (Garnet Group) McComas Ore Banks, nr.White Hall, Baltimore County
Chromian Clinochlore: Soldiers Delight, Baltimore County
Brochantite: Mineral Hill Mine, Louisville, Carroll County
Scheelite:  Maryland Materials Quarry, Cecil County
Hematite: Maryland Materials Quarry, Cecil County
Molybdenite: Maryland Materials Quarry, Cecil County
Titanite (Sphene): Maryland Materials Quarry, Cecil County
Ankerite: Harford Talc and Quartz Quarry, Harford County
Stilbite: LaFarge Quarry, Churchville, Harford County
Sphene: Vulcan Quarry, Havre de Grace,  Harford County
Mackinawite with Pyrrhotite: Montgomery-Howard Quarry, Clarksville, Howard County
Calcite on Prehnite: Hunting Hill Quarry, Rockville, Montgomery County
Pokrovskite: Hunting Hill Quarry, Rockville, Montgomery County
Botroydal Serpentine on Massive Serpentine: Hunting Hill Quarry, Rockville, Mtgy. Co.
Vivianite: Wheeler Road, Prince Georges County

Micromounts and the Future of Collecting

According to some mineral collectors, among whom I include myself,  micromounting has more to offer the  mineral hobbyist and collector than any other niche of mineralogy. Conversely, I've heard seasoned and serious collectors say that the hobby is dying out. "I've checked out their symposia," one notable collector once told me," and there wasn't anyone there under 60." Perhaps he was correct, but things could change.

The relative dearth of young people interested in mineralogy extends beyond  micromounting. Mineral enthusiasts of all stripes lament how their ranks are aging. Possible reasons could be competition wrought by technology, former localities succumbing to sprawl, and increasingly restricted access to quarries, mines, and construction sites. Ever skyrocketing prices for hand and cabinet specimens present another obstacle. Micromounts have the potential to become a big part of the answer.

A partial inspiration for this post was a presentation at the recent Rochester Mineralogical Symposium by Quintin Wight,  probably the world's premier micromounting authority, entitled "The Pleasures of Micromounting," Every year, Quintin travels the globe to attend major micromounting events. He then contributes a major article chronicling  his travels entitled "Through the Scope: The Year in Micromounting" to Rocks and Minerals. Quintin also authored the the beautifully illustrated 273 page hardcover publication The Complete Book of Micromounting, which Mineralogical Record published in 1993.

While Quintin covered much of what this post seeks to communicate, it's important to recognize that he, as well as most of the important players in the world of micromounts define their hobby in terms of "micromounting" and refer to themselves as "micromounters."  Putting together a mount can be time consuming. Quintin has a procedure that takes three days.  Furthermore, for those with poor finger dexterity, mounting a micromineral can be unpleasantly challenging as well as  lead to the destruction of beautiful and sometimes valuable material. Somewhat overlooked in Quintin's presentation was that  one need not be a  a micromounter to collect and love micromounts.

The enjoyment of micromounts requires no more than a binocular microscope and effective lighting. For one interested in photographing micromounts, a trinocular scope is preferable. The pleasures to be enjoyed thereafter are as follows:

• The variety of species to be collected, whether self-collected in the field, purchased, or traded is greater by multiples.  For that matter, many---arguably a majority--- of the most beautiful of the approximately 4700 known mineral species (not to mention varieties of any given species)  require magnification to be appreciated. Many require magnification even to be visible. 
• The quality of crystals as determined by beauty, level of development, and freedom from damage is always going to be the smaller the better.
• More features of a mineral are visible  under the scope.  Included among these features are habits and  associated minerals. 
• Species suitable for micromounting are far more likely to be self-collectible. To collect larger specimens, one has to be able to see them. To collected microscopic minerals, one needs only to know where and how to look for them. 
• Micromounts take up less space than cabinet specimens. Half a cubic foot can hold 500 mounts. 
• Micromounts are far less expensive than cabinet specimens and are affordable to anyone. Quality material for micromounting, including many rare species, can be obtained free from  give-away tables at micromount symposia. 

We note these points as an expression of the potential role of micromounts not just for the future of mineral collecting, but for the present as well.

Kids Take Note: A Rock Shop in Cockeysville

I'd be curious to learn how many members of the Baltimore Mineral Society were aware that a "rock shop" was across the York Road from the Cockeysville Volunteer Fire Department where its members meet on the fourth Wednesday evening of each month. Particularly interesting is that this neighbor is a major local player in a calling that the Society holds dear. It's all about perpetuating the hobby of mineralogy by engaging the interest of young people. 

An enterprise calling itself Beads and Weeds  inside the Pennsylvania Dutch Market hardly seems the kind of establishment where members of the Baltimore Mineral Society would typically expect to find rocks and minerals for sale. The name is because its proprietor, Rhoda Zaid, is a custom bead stringer who originally opened the business as a bead store. That was 17 years ago in Westminster at the "Amish Market" before it moved to Hunt Valley. The "Weeds" part refers to plants that Rhoda has been known to also sell on specific occasions. Otherwise, minerals and a few fossils account for about a third of her inventory. The other two thirds are  divided between beads and jewelry. 

Effectively luring youngsters to the stepped display of minerals that's portrayed in our title image is a gumball machine Rhoda calls "Are You Ready to Rock?." Instead of gum or candy, however, it's filled with small polished stones, sharks teeth, and the occasional lucky crystal. For additional enticement, if a kid returns the plastic bubble that encases the treasure, he/she gets to pick out a free rock. Note also the magnifying glass on the bottom shelf for young prospective buyers to study the minerals that are for sale. The selection is interesting and diverse. I even observed an iridescent siderite specimen from Baltimore County's long built over Arbutus Canyon. The price was just a few dollars. "If you're good while we're shopping, I'll buy you a rock," Rhoda reports having heard mothers tell their kids on more than one occasion. "Anything to get them away from those video games," she adds after a moment's thought. 

Youngsters account for about 40 per cent of those who buy minerals from Rhoda. The rest, she informs me, are adults. If  not avid collectors, some are likely to acquire minerals as home decor. Others, heaven forbid, purchase minerals for their "healing properties."

Adults, of course can better afford some of the more expensive specimens that Rhoda keeps in a glass case adjacent to the open display. Though the price tags are a bit higher, they're neither unreasonable nor out of reach for most pocketbooks. And once kids get hooked, the minerals in the cabinet are perfect for advancing them in their hobby. 

Rhoda mentioned to me that in recent years she has observed increase interest in minerals on the part of young people. Let's hope she's right. 

Tucson 2013

One day in Tucson during the first two weeks of February can provide enough material for a year’s worth of Mineral Bliss posts spread out one per week. It can all be quite overwhelming.

The dinosaurs pictured in the courtyard of the Inn Suites (for over a year now officially named Tucson City Hotel) are mobile. They enhance the atmosphere here at this Martin Zinn hosted Arizona Mineral Show. This is the most popular among serious mineral collectors of the approximately two dozen shows going on around town at this time. Featuring minerals, gems, jewelry, fossils, beads and meteorites, they precede the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society's “big show,” which happens over four days through the middle weekend of February.

Having driven across the country with a brief stop to collect at the Blanchard Mine near Bingham, New Mexico, I arrived at the Inn Suites on Friday, Feb. 1, 2013,  the day before the action there was slated to begin. Notwithstanding, before one could walk beyond the lobby, Dan and Diana Weinrich were waiting in the little adjoining room where they do business each year. Against two walls were cabinets of their typical relatively expensive mineral specimens. Surrounding the other two walls were less expensive boxed minerals the Weinrich’s had keystoned (that means reduced by half) from original prices that were mostly  reasonable to begin with. Having disregarded a favorite aphorism  “Don’t take the first thing off the shelf,” I'm still delighted with my Weinrich purchases two weeks later.

Otherwise, my first stop would have been a second floor room above a courtyard beyond the one where the dinosaurs lurked. lt is the room where the iconic and ever fascinating dealer Alfredo Petrov holds forth each year. Alfredo was only about halfway finished setting up, but already had a small quantity of very interesting minerals on display. From somewhere behind them he lifted a seven pound boulder of river polished gneiss bearing a quartz vein in the shape of a heart. “Anyone looking for a Valentines gift,” he inquired? SOLD to Your's Truly for $40! I correctly anticipated that Mrs. Yi would be overwhelmed when presented with it upon flying in to join me for Valentines Day. Even better, Alfredo provided with this rock with one his signature handwritten labels.

Two days later was Superbowl Sunday. Not at the Clarion Show, the Riverpark Show, the Pueblo Show nor at the Inn Suites, all of which I visited that morning was there a person to be found who was clad in purple. However dear the fellowship of mineral friends in Tucson, none would suffice as superbowl watching companions  without sharing my passion for the Baltimore Ravens. Thankfully, a Baltimore friend with no interest in minerals, who had rented a condo 30 miles south in Green Valley and knew I was in Tucson, was kind enough to invite me  to watch the game with him and his family. .

The following week, I returned to Tucson from a side trip to Los Angeles in time to enjoy “Collectors Day” at the posh Westward Look Resort on Ina Road in North Tucson. Each year on this weekend before the Big Show, most of the world’s top high end dealers rent suites to display and sell their best material. The world class minerals in all of these suites attract  museum buyers and well-heeled collectors as well as plenty of gawkers. Featured in the Westward Look Lobby on Collector's Day is a display featuring selected specimens belonging to a notable collector. This year's  honors went to Kevin Brown, who also is the Gallery Manager at Dr. Rob Lavinsky’s heralded Arkenstone in Richardson, Texas. While  in the lobby, I stepped aside from shooting photographs of Kevin's rocks to make room for Mindat Founder and Chief Executive Joylon Ralph, as he photographed an image of Kevin standing in front of the collection.

Mrs. Yi flew in from Baltimore late that night. The following day, I directed her on a tour of as many shows as time would permit. To impress her with the vastness of what happens in Tucson during February, we made a stop at the humungous annual extravaganza taking place at the Kino Sport Complex. As I ambled about in the out of doors looking over  millions of poor quality overpriced minerals, Mrs. Yi ventured inside the huge tent to find a Colorado based jewelry dealer who sold  her for $100 a ring that had been priced at $160. I beamed upon noting that the featured stone was a polished cab of the rare turquoise family species chalcosiderite.

After a brief side trip to Sedona, Mrs. Yi and I were back in Tucson for the first day of “the big show” on Thursday, Feb. 14, Valentines Day. Because it’s a weekday, fewer people attend than on the following three days, making it much easier to take everything in and make purchases. Each year’s show has a specific theme. This year the show theme was fluorite. It was  chosen because it's a relatively common mineral that's much cherished by collectors for its beauty, as well as diverse colours and habits. Except for theme, the big show is  much the same from year to year. The amazing exhibits, though different each year,  are always in the same place, and the dealers are likely to be working the same spot as the year before.

The big show and all the the other shows leading up to it are much the same in another respect.  Prices various dealers ask can vary drastically for species where the size and quality can suggest equal value. Not at all unusual is for one dealer to be selling for $20 something similar to what another dealer has priced at $200. It speaks even more for how subjective the pricing of minerals can be as the likelihood that a dealer is seeking to take advantage of  buyers. More important, however, than asking price are the prices negotiated negotiated between sellers and shrewd buyers, many of whom are also sellers, when others are not present. Pity the buyer who has not been on the scene long enough to fully understand this aspect of the market.

With the largest extravaganza of its kind anywhere else in the world, Tucson in February offers perspective like no other regarding the various hobbies and businesses it showcases. As much as viewing and buying, many who attend each year  value it  for the kind of fellowship that is available with others they would otherwise rarely get to see or meet who share their unique interests. That the weather can usually be counted upon to be perfect makes it all the nicer.

An Amazing Visit with Pennsylvania's Joe Dague

It was unbeknownst to me that sulfur crystals such as the one pictured above occurred in Pennsylvania.  As a collector who specializes in minerals collected in Maryland, I'm endlessly amazed and fascinated by the far greater bounty of collectible minerals  from our neighboring state to the north.  Of course, Pennsylvania covers a larger area and has a lot more people prone to pursuit of its mineral bounty.

Last month, I had the pleasure of visiting the very accomplished veteran Pennsylvania field collector who unearthed that sulfur crystal at the Jacksonville Quarry in Centre County.  In the company of his his wife Jeanne as well as other prominent Pennsylvania collectors, Joe Dague has been at it for decades.

Although the primary purpose of my visit was to see some of the pieces he had picked up on outings to Maryland a few miles south  from his Chambersburg quarters, Joe's Pennsylvania specimens distracted me.  Not that he didn't have plenty of great Maryland material, which we will be covering on one of two related posts in the coming months.

Since his Maryland minerals were packed away in flats, some of the  first mineral specimens Joe showed me were in a small cabinet bearing thumbnails. Upon its shelves were more interesting and unusual Pennsylvania minerals  than I could even begin to digest.

How about tyorlite from the McCauley Prospect #17 near Franklin Township in Lycoming County, PA?  To my knowledge and according to all that's posted on Mindat, this is the only locality in Pennsylvania from which tyrolite was ever reported. Sometime after that discovery, about 30 years ago, someone bulldozed the McCauley Prospect  dumps back into its pit, which has long grown over.

Another piece that instantly amazed me was a specimen of enargite altering to conichalcite and cornubite shown at right. Joe collected this from the Lime Bluff Quarry near Muncy, also in Lycoming County.

Grabbing me no less was that green sphalerite at left from the Thomasville underground limestone mine Jackson Township in York County. This specimen came from a find in 1990 by the preeminent Pennsylvania field colletor Bryon N. Brookmyer. When Wendell Wilson, Editor-in-Chief and publisher of Mineralogical Record saw these specimens, he proclaimed them the best green sphalerite he'd ever seen.

In addition to all the rare, unusual and regional species he and Jeanne have collected in the field, their worldwide wurtzite suite could be the best anywhere. It's Joe's favorite species. He explains why:

Jeanne and I collected the wurtzite specimen (pictured at right)  about twenty years ago at a coal strip mine in Elk County, Pa.  I'm especially fascinated by the wurtzite mineral species because the marine shales overlying the Brush Creek and Vanport limestones in western Pennsylvania are the type localities for three wurtzite polymorphs--4H, 6H and 15R.  For natives of Western Pa. such as Jeanne and me, wurtzite remains one of the very few interesting minerals that collectors can find in the old abandoned strip-mine in that area.  In addition to several Pennsylvania sites, we now have wurtzite specimens from 17 localities worldwide.

Another Dague specialty is kimberlite, especially Pennsylvania kimberlite, of course. While no Pennsylvania kimberlite is known to bear diamonds, as it does in Arkansas, Pennsylvania is well known for two kimberlite dikes. The first is the Gates-Adah Dike, which is located in an outcrop along the Mongonahela River where Fayette and Greene Counties meet. The other, the Dixonville-Tanoma Dike is beneath the earth in the Tanoma Coal Mine. Pictured below at left is a kimberlite specimen from a THIRD! little known Pennsylvania  kimberlite dike.An image of it appears below at left.  Per Joe,  here's the scoop:

(It's) a rock sample of the third known kimberlite dike in Pennsylvania--the Ernest mine kimberlite. Jeanne and I collected this sample  on August 22, 2009.  Our find of this specimen confirmed its previously suspected existence, and it is now the third known kimberlite dike in western Pennsylvania, and the first to be discovered here in nearly a century.

And that's not all. While my research may not be exhaustive, it's clear that little if anything has been written regarding a kimberlite dike existing  in Maryland. Regardless, Joe showed me and allowed me to photograph for publication here a specimen of Maryland kimberlite. Please stay tuned on this one. It will be the subject of yet another subsequent post in several months.

Maryland Minerals: S to Z

This is the  fourth and final part of our compendium for the Maryland Minerals website seeking to list all mineral species and varieties of species known to have occurred in Maryland. As in the previous three portions of that compenium, the name of any major mineral family and/or group to which a species or variety belongs appears in parenthesis next to the species/variety name. Duly noted on the list also are a relatively few questionable or unverified occurrences. Also included and similarly noted are the names of species that the I.M.A. has since discredited. Images of Maryland-collected specimens arranged by county for many of these species can be viewed at the website's Maryland-collected minerals slideshow.


For nearly all of information in this compendium, we are grateful to the following sources:

Minerals of Maryland by Charles Ostrander and Walter E. Price, Jr., Natural History Society of Maryland, 1940
Minerals of the Washington, D.C. Area by Lawrence R. Bernstein, Maryland Geological Survey, 1980
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Database.
Mindat

Continuing through the end of the alphabet, subsequent posts will cover the names of additional minerals that have been collected in Maryland.

Samarskite                                                                                
Saponite  ?
Scapolite (member of Scapolite Group)
Scheelite
Scolecite
Selenite (see Gypsum)
Sepiolite
Sericite (synonym for mucscovite)
Siderite
Siegenite (member Linnaeite Group)
Sillimanite
Silver
Smagardite (var. Actinolite, a member of Amphibole Group)
Smithsonite
Soapstone (see Talc)
Spessartine (Garnet Group)
Sphalerite
Spherosiderite

Sphene (synonym of Titanite, a member of Titanite Group) Spinel (Member of Spinel Group)
Staurolite
Stellerite
Stibiconite (Member of Romeite Group)
Stibnite
Stilbite (Member of Zeolite Group)
Stilpnomelane
Strengite
Strontianite
Strunzite (Member of Strunzite Group)
Succinite (synonym for Amber)
Sulfur
Talc
Tantalite (Discredited by IMA, see Columbite)
Tenorite
Tetradymite (Member of Tetradymite Group)
Tetrahedrite
Thulite (var. of Zoisite)
Thuringite  (a ferroan varitey of Chamosite)
Titanite (a member of Titanite Group)
Todorochite
Topaz
Torbernite
Tourmaline (synonymous with Tourmaline Group)
Tremolite (Member of Tremolite-Actinolite Series within Amphibole Group)
Turgite (a mixture of Goethite and Hematite-rejected by IMA)
Uralite
Uraninite (?)
Vermiculite (Alteration product of Mica that's a member of  Montmorillonite-Vermiculite Group)
Vesuvianite
Vivianite

Wad (Generic name for various manganese Oxides)
Water
Wavellite
Wernerite (a variety of Scapolite)
Williamsite (a variety of Antigorite a member of Serpentine Group)
Withamite (a variety of Epidote)
Wollastonite (a member of Wollastonite Group)
Wurtzite (Member of Wurtzite Group)
Xenotime
Xonotlite (Member of Xonotlite Group)
Zaratite
Zeolite Family
Zinnwaldite (Member of Mica Group)
Zircon
Zoisite

Maryland Minerals: M to P

This is the third part of  our compendium for the Maryland Minerals website seeking to list all mineral species and varieties of species known to have occurred in  Maryland. As in the previous two portions of that compenium, the  name of any major mineral family and/or group to which a species or variety belongs appears in parenthesis next to the species/variety name. Duly noted on the list also are a relatively few questionable or unverified occurrences.  Also included and similarly noted are the names of  species that the I.M.A. has since discredited. Images of Maryland-collected specimens arranged by county for many of these species can be viewed at the website's  Maryland-collected minerals slideshow.

For nearly all of  information in this compendium, we are grateful to the following sources:

• Minerals of Maryland by Charles Ostrander and Walter E. Price, Jr.,  Natural History Society of Maryland, 1940
• Minerals of the Washington, D.C. Area by Lawrence R. Bernstein, Maryland Geological Survey, 1980
• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Database.
• Mindat

Continuing through the end of the alphabet, subsequent posts will cover the names of additional minerals that have been collected in Maryland.

Mackinawite
Magnesioferrite (Member of Spinel Group)
Magnesite

Magnetite (Member of Spinel;Group)
Malachite
Malacolite (rarely used synonym for Diopside)
Manganite
Manganocalcite (synonym for Manganoan Calcite)
Marcasite
Margarite (member of Mica Group)

Marmolite (synonym for both Chrisotile and Lizardite of Serpentine Group)
Meerschaum (German synonym for Sepiolite)
Melaconite (synonum of Tenorite)
Melanterite (principal species of Melanterite Group)
Metatorbernite (Member of Meta-autunite Group)
Mica Family
Microcline  Member of Feldspar Group)
Microlite (Member of Pyrochlore Supergroup)
Millerite
Mizzonite (Synonym  of Marialite, a member of scapolite group)
Molybdenite- First identified in the United States at Jones Falls Quarries
Monazite (member of Monazite Group)
Moonstone (variety of Microcline and sometimes Orthoclase-both members of Feldspar Group)
Moss Agate (variety of Chalcedony, a variety of Quartz)
Mountain Leather (a leathery variety of Asbestos)
Muscovite (member of Mica Group)
Natrolite (member of Zeolite Group)
Niccoline

Niccolite (Italian name for Niccoline)
Nontronite (Member of Smectite Group)
Oligoclase (Member of Feldspar Group)
Olivine (Member of Olivine Group)
Omphacite (Member of Pyroxene Group)
Opal
Ophicalcite (same as Ophiolite or Verde Antique)
Orthoclase (Member of Feldspar Group)
Ottrelite (Member of Chloritoid Group)
Owenite (a variety of Antigorite a member of the Serpentine Family)
Paragonite (Member of Mica Group)
Pectolite (a member of the Wollastonite Group)

Pennine (a Variety of Clinochlore)

Phenakite
Phillipsite
Phlogopite (Member of Mica Group)
Picotite (Variety of Hercynite rejected as such by IMA is actually Chromian Hercynite)
Picrolite (Variety of Antigorite, a member of Serpentine Family)
Piedmonite (Member of Epidote Group)
Pigeonite (Member of Pyroxene Group)
Plaglioclase Family (Series member of Feldspar Group)
Platinum
Pleonaste (a variety of Spinel)
Porcellophite (synonym for Antigorite, a member of Serpentine Family
Prochlorite (Synonym of Clinochlore)
Prehnite
Psilomelane (can refer to various  manganese black oxides such as Pyrolusite or Manganite)
Pseudomalachite
Pyrite (Member of Pyrite Group)
Pyrolusite
Pyromorphite
Pyrope (Member of Garnet Group)
Pyrophyllite (Member of Pyrophyllite -Talc Group)
Pyroxene Family
Pyrrhotite
Quartz