When I started this project, I thought it would take up about 4-5 A4 pages, well as I write this it is currently up to 21 pages, (single spaced, Times New Roman, Size 12!).And it will obviously become larger yet, but this is not an issue. I am enjoying putting this together and hope that you will all use it to some degree, whether it is finding a term you were unfamiliar with, or maybe putting forward a suggestion for an addition!I welcome and en..

Public transportation to Miyake arrives in the rain.Accomodations on board.Miyake-jima, an 8 km (5 miles) diameter active volcanic island located in the Pacific Ocean about 200 km south of Tokyo, is considered to betheclassic locality foranorthitefeldspar crystals of almost end-member composition (generally 96 to 97% Ca-plagioclase and only 2 to 4% Na-plagioclase). Millions of these “floater“ crystals, usually 1 to 2cm in size and rarely exceed..

Acetic Acid (Ethanoic Acid, Vinegar, Glacial Acetic Acid)By Barry Flannery (edited by Dr. Stephen Moreton) Acetic acid,CH3COOH, is a simple carboxylic acid. It is a weak organic acid better known as the chemical which gives vinegar its distinctive odour. Its weak acidity makes it a useful chemical for dissolving calcite from sensitive minerals such as galena and fluorite where the much stronger hydrochloric acid may cause dulling and damage to lu..

Gorbin the Binntal in Switzerland is a classical place forAnatase. Not only because the biggest Anatase crystal (5 cm) known was found here, but also for the colour and shape of the Anatases.Gorb, Binntal (22-07-2009)ColourThe colour of the Anatase from Gorb can vary from dark brown, brown, yellow to nearly colorless.A dark brown Anatase (found 19-07-2010). Image width 4 mm.Anatase (found 19-07-2010). Image width 5 mm.An nearly colorless Anatase ..

Linarite Nantycagle mineAt first this article was going to be just about linarite. It very soon became apparent that schmiederite would play a late but important part in the history of linarite from the UK.Many collectors have fine examples of linarite in there collections, from a number of UK and world locations. It is easy to understand why. Who would not like to have in there collection a azure blue bladed radial crystal group of linarite, con..

Have you ever wondered what combination of crystal forms were needed to create those unique pyrite crystals? What about other minerals in the isometric system? Below are some combinations of 2 and 3 isometric crystal forms that should help you interpret some complex crystals and assign the proper faces (I made each series using KRISTALL2000).Pyritohedron - Octahedron Crystal CombosPyritohedron - Cube Crystal CombosOctahedron - Cube Crystal Combos..

The photos have been removed from the locality pages, but they are still in the Mindat database, as part of the personal galleries.Click on them to get to the full description.146167146158146159146163146165146168146170153370226348258643258644258652261928296193

The same methods described below can also be used to clean other hard durable minerals like beryl, spinel, chrysoberyl etc.Probably the most commonly requested information about cleaning mineral specimens is for information about how to clean quartz crystals. Quartz crystals are pretty tough customers and you can clean them pretty aggressively, both by mechanical and chemical means. By that I mean you can go after most of them with a stiff brush ..

The following advice is aimed at beginning mineral collectors. This is the advice that I wish somebody had told me when I was starting out. Sadly, these lessons were discovered through experience. Every experienced collector will tell you the same advice, though perhaps in a different way.Keep those labels.Labels are important to your collection. They are the only evidence to distinguish an ordinary green tourmaline from Brazil from that rare tou..

Originally Published in Four Installments by the New York Mineralogical ClubAs promised this article is first in a series on how to clean mineral specimens. Many specimens collected in the field do not look like the ones that dealers are selling. Most collectors become discouraged or frustrated. These articles will give a few simple techniques clean the pieces you collect.Oxalic AcidAnything that has the word “acid“ sounds ominous. But oxalic a..