Benitoite from San Benito County, California

Here's an interesting specimen that will be part of our next site update.  It's an example of the rare gemstone Benitoite which is California's official state gemstone.  Not surprisingly, it comes from San Benito County in the Golden State.

This mineral can be found in several places around the world but the only gemstone-quality specimens have been found California.  It was first discovered in 1907 and is usually associated other unusual minerals including natrolite, neptunite, joaquinite, serpentine and albite.

For more information head over to GemSelect and their article about this rare blue gemstone.

Benitoite

Benitoite

Benitoite

Site Update 13 May 2013

Hi all,

We posted a new update to the site this week with 14 new specimens.  We are hoping to get another update up possibly as soon as later this week.

This one is another selection of pieces from around the world, including two from the state of Colorado.  One is a Rhodochrosite and Quartz piece from the famous Sweet Home Mine outside of Alma in Park County while the other is a Barite specimen from Stoneham, Weld County in the northeast part of the state.  Check 'em out below.

Rhodochrosite, Quartz, Chalcopyrite, Sphalerite
Sweet Home Mine, Alma, CO

Barite
Stoneham, Weld County, Co

Also included in this update is this Manganoan Calcite specimen from Zlatograd, Bulgaria:

Calcite (Manganoan)
Ermareka Mine, Zlatograd, Bulgaria

That's it for now.  We'll be posting some previews of the next update in the coming days.

Houston Fine Mineral Show

Voelter Minerals will be heading to the Texas Gulf Coast for this weekend's Houston Fine Mineral Show!

The show will take place at the Embassy Suites Hotel on Sage Road in the Galleria area.  The show officially kicks off at 10AM on Friday and runs until 6PM the first day.  Saturday's hours are the same and Sunday's hours are from 10AM until 5PM.

We will have selections from our inventory on hand so stop by and see us if you are in the area.

Quartz from Graham County, Arizona

Hi all,

We've posted a new update this week.  There are a total of 14 new specimens in this group and one of the highlights is this beautiful Quartz specimen from the Santa Teresa Mountains in Graham County, Arizona.

According to Jon, this is an unusual piece due to the fact that the crystals "have an undetermined inclusion which gives them a pale pink color."  It's believed that only one pocket was found and this is the only specimen that did not require any repairs.

Quartz
Santa Teresa Mountains
Graham County, AZ

Quartz
Angle  

Quartz
Angle 3

Vanadinite from Mibladen, Morocco

This is one of several new specimens we have from African locations.  Specifically, this is a specimen of Vanadinite from Mibladen, Morocco.

From the description:

"This small cabinet specimen with a central core of lustrous, red crystals surrounded by a fine-grained matrix. The crystal cores are bright red while the color transitions to a reddish brown on the edges."

The dimensions of this piece are 6.7 x 6.0 cm.  There is some minor damage.

Fluorite Specimen from County Durham, England

We're doing a couple of "mini" updates to our site this week.  The first group includes some specimens from England, China, Nevada and Quebec.  Later in the week we'll be displaying several specimens from various African locations.

Included in that first batch is this beautiful fluorite specimen from the Greenlaws Mine in County Durham, England.  Capturing the actual color of this piece proved tricky for our photographer.  The pink color seen in the photographs only appears under certain lighting.  It's actual color is very pale yellow with purple bands near the crystal edges.

Worldwide Update - March 20, 2013

We've acquired a couple of collections in recent months and have now made the first group of minerals from these available through our main site.

These specimens come from various locations around the world and include the following highlights:

Native Silver
Houghton Mine, Michigan, USA

Azurite, Malachite, Chrysocolla
Robinson Mine, White Pine County, Nevada

Calcite
Meikle Mine
Elko County, Nevada

Additional pieces come from Australia, China, Peru, Russia, Tsumeb, the United Kingdom and other localities in the United States. In total there are 18 specimens and all of them can be seen on our "New Minerals" page.

We will be posting more in the near future.  In the meantime, enjoy!

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