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Geology News
Minerals Current Events

Beach sand is much more than just little brown granules. It is comprised of microscopic shells, pieces of coral, tiny gems, mineral fragments, and more. This colorful and interesting slideshow displays the microphotography of Dr. Gary Greenberg.

There are a surprising number of mineral dealers selling on ebay. The-Vug.com has a directory of ebay mineral dealers.

Current high energy prices and a renewed interest in nuclear power have sparked a sudden rise in the number of uranium claims filed in the western United States. The Los Angeles Times reports that there are 1,100 uranium claims on public lands within five miles of Grand Canyon National Park compared to only 10 in 2003.

An article on the GEOTIMES website by Benjamin A. Eisterhold and Michael E. Webber explores how some countries try to seize or monetize mineral resources that are being developed by foreign companies or being exported. Examples include: Venezuela and the North Sea area.

The-Vug.com has a photo display of the Montana Moss Agate case by Brooks Britt from the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. This is one of several mineral exhibit competition cases that they feature as articles on their website.

If you collect minerals they note mineral dealer website updates on their homepage.

An article at the GEOTIMES website presents information on hematite mining in Peru about 2000 years ago. The Nasca people produced over 3000 tons of hematite for use as a pigment.

National Geographic Related Article

We recently updated our geology jobs page adding links to over 200 employers, headhunters and articles relevant to the job market for geologists. If you know anyone looking for earth science employement or anyone who advises geology students we invite you to share the URL with them.
http://geology.com/jobs.htm

The-Vug.com has photos of the Amazonite and Smoky Quartz exhibit from the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. Included are photos from the Pike’s Peak County, Colorado mine where some were collected and also from the Collector’s Edge Cleaning Lab where some of the specimens were prepared.

The Dallas Fine Mineral Show is an annual event that is growing rapidly. This year it will be held in Dallas on May 2nd to May 4th. Promoters say that they have a 60% increase in the number of dealers over last year.

If you like the mineral corundum then you need to visit Corunduminium.com. There you will find what is probably the best collection of corundum photos, information and humor to be found anywhere. Even if corundum isn’t your favorite mineral you will probably not be able to get out of the site in under thirty minutes.

DId you know that emeralds have been mined in North Carolina? How about Hiddenite? The-Vug.com has photos of the North Carolina Emerald/Hiddenite exhibit from the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. You will be surprised at the size of some of these specimens.

“The ubiquity of tiny particles of minerals–mineral nanoparticles–in oceans and rivers, atmosphere and soils, and in living cells are providing scientists with new ways of understanding Earth’s workings. Our planet’s physical, chemical, and biological processes are influenced or driven by the properties of these minerals.” Quoted from the NSF release.

“A report published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) contains a regional map and associated database that inventory 121 locations of reported natural asbestos and fibrous amphibole occurrences in the Southwestern United States, including Arizona, Nevada, and Utah.” Quoted from the USGS release.

George Polman shares some of his photos from the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. He has several photos from the US Minerals display cases and a few nice fluorescent mineral photos.

Diamond is the world’s most popular gemstone and it’s qualities as the hardest natural substance make it an excellent abrasive. However, diamond is used for many other things which include: heat sink, speaker dome, laser windows and microbearings.

“Boltwoodite is a Uranium mineral that is only found in a handful of locations worldwide. The location that produces the very best material in the world is in the desolate moon landscape of Goanikontes Namibia.” Quoted from The-Vug.com

The-Vug.com has a few very nice photos of crystallized gold from this locality that were taken by Jeff Scovil.

An article at The-Vug.com by Christian C. Burke shows the tools and describes some procedures for cleaning mineral specimens. The presentation of many specimens can be significantly improved by a cleaning and selective removal of obscuring matrix.

The-Vug.com has posted the laws of mineral collection. It is a humorous list of problems that plague mineral collections. These were written by Wendell Wilson. Here’s a good one…. It’s true!

2. A specimen being trimmed tends to break through the largest crystal.

Posted at The-Vug.com is a photographic tour of the specimen cleaning lab at Collector’s Edge Minerals, Inc. of Golden, Colorado. Shown are a few photos of the facility and photos of work-in-progress.

We leave Tucson soon and have posted a final few photos of the gem and mineral show. We spent five days at the show and believe that we only saw about 25% of it.

The-Vug.com is a website owned by Justin Butt and Brandy Naugle. Their goal is to provide a portal to mineral dealers on the web and updates when dealers add new materials to their website. The Vug also has a large list of articles, links to mineral museums, a list of mineral clubs, mineral show announcements and much more. If you like minerals check out The Vug.

We are starting to find the “good stuff” at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. Here are a few more photos of things that we saw today.

We are at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show and it would be impossible to take enough photos to do the show justice. However, here is just a few of the things that we have seen.

“The preliminary estimated value of U.S. nonfuel mine production rose last year to $68 billion - a 2.9 percent increase from that of 2006, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) announced.” Quoted from USGS

An article in the Wall Street Journal explores how the banks who lend the money that finances coal-fired power plants might get very picky about what projects they lend to. They are looking beyond the finances and into elements of geology and environment.

If you think that coal is a boring black rock then you have never seen it through a transmitted light microscope. Well preserved woody material is bright red, spores are brilliant yellow, algal material is yellow-orange, charcoal and opaque minerals are black, and grains of many transparent minerals are white. It’s hard to believe that coal can be so colorful!

Vietnam is investing to develop ilmenite and rutile production in the Thai Nguyen, Binh Dinh, Quang Tri, Binh Thuan, and Thua Thien Hue provinces. Much of it will be used in the production of pigments.

We have a small collection of the most common metamorphic rocks. Included are: Gneiss, Hornfels, Marble, Phyllite, Quartzite, Schist, and Slate.

We have a small collection of photos for the most common sedimentary rocks. Included are: Breccia, Chert, Coal, Conglomerate, Iron Ore, Limestone, Rock Salt, Sandstone, Shale and Siltstone.

We have a small collection of photos for the most common igneous rocks. Included are: Andesite, Basalt, Diorite, Gabbro, Granite, Obsidian, Pegmatite, Peridotite, Pumice, Rhyolite, Scoria and Tuff.

A massive iron ore deposit has been discovered in the Liaoning Province of northeastern China. Unfortunately it is over 1200 meters below the surface.

There are over 3000 vendors at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, so planning ahead is important. Arizona Vacation Planners have a list of good tips to help you make the most of the show.

Kyanite is a mineral that is used to manufacture items that must retain their strength at high temperatures. It is used to make a variety of refractory products such a fire brick, mortar and kiln furniture. It is also used to make porcelain and is sometimes cut as a gemstone.

If you are going to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, which begins in just a couple of weeks, you might want to read John Betts’ advice in “A Guide to the Tucson Mineral Shows for First-Time Visitors”.

These are specimens of a silicate mineral that is often used as a gemstone. This mineral occurs in a wide range of colors and the “sherry” color shown here is very typical. These particles are about ten millimeters across. If you know this mineral submit your answer here.

Lake Superior State University dedicated a mineral resources museum to honor C. Ernest Kemp, a well-respected geology professor who was one of LSSU’s first members of the faculty.

Experts believe that there is a lot of uranium beneath Cole’s Hill in Pittsylvania County, Virginia - so much that it has been called “the largest undeveloped uranium deposit in North America”. In addition to the uranium there are lots of other interesting minerals in this area.

Haiti Map

Gold and copper prospecting companies are working in Haiti, some returning to prospects that they started a decade ago. Political violence and social problems still discourage exploration but reports of promising properties are rekindling interest.

USGS Image

USGS has published: Reported Historic Asbestos Mines, Historic Asbestos Prospects, and Natural Asbestos Occurrences in the Rocky Mountain States of the United States (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, and Wyoming). USGS Open File Report 2007-1182 can be downloaded as a PDF document.