Smithsonite

"Smithsonian Science How?" live webcast featuring volcanologist Liz Cottrell

Department of Mineral Sciences volcanologist Liz Cottrell was recently the guest scientist on the Smithsonian Science How? webcast which was broadcasted live from Q?rius in the National Museum of Natural History.  During two half-hour sessions, Liz explained to veiwers all about volcanoes and how they work, shared her experiences in the field and at the Museum, and also answered questions sent in from viewers.

The May 15, 2014 webcast (Volcano Geochemistry: Windows to Earth's Interior) can be viewed at the Smithsonian Science How? webcast archive at http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/47591166.

 

New England Mineral Conference 2014 (NEMC) May-9-11

The second annual NEMC was held this past weekend at the Grand Summit Resort Hotel at Sun River, Newry, Maine and was well attended by nearly 100 amateur mineral enthusiasts, miners,  mineral dealers and scientists.  Michael Wise from the Department of Mineral Sciences (National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution) was one of six invited speakers and got the conference opening session off to a great start with his well-received Friday night presentation on New England minerals in the National Gem & Mineral Collections. 

 

In addition to the talks, there were display cases which featured mineral specimens from the mines of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.  Mike took advantage of the opportunity to speak to a number of Maine miners and prospectors about their current activities and secured invitations for future visits to the mines with the hope of acquiring new mineral specimens for the Smithsonian’s collections

Recent discovery of tourmalines from the Havey mine, Poland, ME.

Tucson Gem & Mineral Show Report (Part 2)

In mid-February of 2014, the mineralogists from the Department of Mineral Sciences went to Tucson, Arizona for the 60^th Annual Tucson Gem & Mineral Show.  Held every February, the Tucson Show is one of the largest shows of its kind in the world and is regularly attended by representatives of the Smithsonian Institution.

 

Our presence at the Tucson  Gem & Mineral Show is not restricted to acquiring specimens for our collections.  Each year we set-up temporary exhibits that highlight some of the best gems & minerals from our collections.

  The Smithsonian booth at the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) show.

 

 Display of gems donated by the Smithsonian Gemstone Collectors.

 

Display of new gemstones donated by various vendors and individuals attending the AGTA show.

 

 

At the "Main Show", held at the Tucson Convention Center, there are lectures and display cases in addition to more wholesale and retail dealers.  Displays are presented by museums, dealers and collectors and typically relate to the theme of the year's show.  Exhibitors may also simply display new acquisitions or specimens of personal interest.  This year's show theme was "6o Years of Diamonds, Gems, Silver and Gold".  We decided to exhibit the "Post Diamond Tiara" and various diamond crystals from around the world, highlighted by a pile of loose natural diamond crystals from  Zimbabwe that weighed nearly 4 pounds.

Curator-in-Charge Jeff Post makes some final adjustments to the Post Diamond Tiara display at the Tucson Gem & Mineral Main Show.

 

Department of Mineral Sciences staff start assembling their Diamond exhibit.

 

An assortment of diamonds in the Smithsonian display case.  Note the pile of Zimbabwe diamonds in the center of the case.

 

A handful of uncut diamonds from Zimbabwe.  The total weight of these diamonds was about 3.5 pounds.

 

The Smithsonian's Diamond exhibit at the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show.

 

The Tucson Gem & Mineral Show is one of the highlights of our year and we look forward to attending every year.  It has always been a great venue for finding new and exciting specimens to add to the National Collection.  The "Show" also provides us with an opportunity to showcase specimens which are generally not on public display in the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. 

We can hardly wait until next February!

Tucson Gem & Mineral Show Report

In mid-February of 2014, the mineralogists from the Department of Mineral Sciences went to Tucson, Arizona for the 60^th Annual Tucson Gem & Mineral Show.  Held every February, the Tucson Show is one of the largest shows of its kind in the world and is regularly attended by representatives of the Smithsonian Institution.

The Hotel Tucson City Center (formerly InnSuites Hotel) - arguably the best of the hotel shows for most mineral collectors.

Ahhh…sunny and warm Tucson, Arizona and our annual trip to the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show is finally here! What a nice break from the cold of Washington, DC.  Time to buy some minerals.  Jeff Post, Russ Feather and Christine Webb had already been in Tucson attending the major gem shows for almost a week prior to the arrival of Paul Pohwat, Joe Mack and myself on February 11^th.  This was Joe’s first trip to this mineral and gem extravaganza and he had a great time.  Once we all got settled in, we began the business of looking for new specimens for the collections.  This involves lots of walking and visiting mineral dealers who convert their hotel rooms to “mini-shops”.

    
Paul and Joe get ready for a day of   One of the nearly 200 dealer rooms at the Hotel Tucson.
shopping for minerals.

One of our favorite vendors is Jorde Fabre of Fabre Minerals. Jorde is a really nice guy and always has interesting specimens to show us.  It seems every year he has set aside something that we can’t resist getting for the Museum’s Mineral Collection.  This year it was a chalcocite/chalcopyrite specimen from China.

The Mineral Acquisition Committee looks over the  merchandise of Fabre Minerals for potential specimens to add to the Mineralogy Collection.  Photos by Joe Mack, Smithsonian Institution.

         Jeff and Mike examining one of the new azurites from Mexico.  Photo by
         Joe Mack, Smithsonian Institution.

Not all deals take place in hotel rooms…some even occur in the parking lot! We were shown some fabulous azurites from Milpillas, Mexico. Fantastic material, but a bit pricey for us.  Most people do not realize that selling minerals is big business.  Minerals can be found at every price level.  Low-quality specimens can be bought for as little as $5.  Prices for very good specimens can range anywhere from $100 to almost $5,000 and  "museum-quality" mineral specimens suitable for display in public exhibitions can easily have prices in excess of $20,000.  In my many years of attending the Tucson Show, I have also seen nicely displayed minerals with price tags of $100,000 or more.  Too much for our budget...but still nice to look at.  Speaking of mineral displays, check back later for an update on the Smithsonian's displays at the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show.

                              Typical mineral prices at the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show.  Photo
                              by Joe Mack, Smithsonian Institution.

  A suite of high-quality mineral specimens with high-end prices.  This display case of minerals, all for sale, priced out at roughly $1.7 million dollars!

 

Welcome to the Department of Mineral Sciences Blog!

This blog brings you reports, research news, images and more from the Department of Mineral Sciences at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History.

Recent NMNH Mineral Sciences Publications

Within the past few weeks, several new papers have been published by members of our staff.  As expected, the topics are varied and include studies on meteorites, microbial interaction and the remediation of polluted ponds, and diamonds in our collection.

Abreu, N.M., & Bullock, E.S. 2013. Opaque assemblages in CR2 Graves Nunataks (GRA) 06100 as indicators of shock-driven hydrothermal alteration in the CR chondrite parent body. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 48, 2406-2429.

 Andrews, B.J., & Manga, M. 2014. Thermal and rheological controls on the formation of mafic enclaves or banded pumice. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 167 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00410-013-0961-7

 Archer, G.J., Ash,  R.D., Bullock, E.S., & Walker, R.J. 2014. Highly siderophile elements and ¹⁸⁷Re-¹⁸⁷Os Isotopic systematics of the Allende Meteorite: evidence for primary nebular processes and late-stage alteration. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2013.12.032

Feather, R.C. 2014. Beyond Hope: Some Other Notable Diamonds at the Smithsonian Institution—Part 1. Rocks & Minerals 89, 27-9.

McSween, H., Binzel, R., De Sanctis, M., Ammannito, E., Prettyman, T., Beck A.W., Reddy, V., Le Corre, L., Gaffey, M., Raymond, C. & Russell, C. 2013. Dawn; the Vesta-HED connection; and the geologic context for eucrites, diogenites, and howardites. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 48, 2090-2104.

Morlok, A., Lisse, C., Mason, A.B., Bullock, E.S. & Grady, M.M. 2013. Mid-Infrared spectroscopy of components in Chondrites: search for processed materials in young solar systems and comets. Icarus 231, 338–355.

Prettyman, T.H., Mittlefehldt, D.W., Yamashita, N., Beck, A.W., Feldman. W.C., Hendricks. J.S., Lawrence, D.J., McCoy, T.J., McSween, H.Y., Peplowski, P.N., Reedy, R.C., Toplis, M.J., Le Corre, L., Mizzon, H., Reddy, V., Titus, T.N., Raymond, C.A., & Russell, C.T. 2013. Neutron absorption constraints on the composition of 4 Vesta. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 48, 2211-36.

Post, J.E. 2014.  The Hope Diamond: Rare Gem, Historic Jewel. Rocks & Minerals 89, 16-26.

Pohwat, P.W. 2014. Connoisseur's Choice: Diamond, Dutoitspan Mine, Kimberley, Northern Cape Province, South Africa. Rocks & Minerals 89, 54-65.

 

Three articles focusing on diamonds from the recently published Rocks & Minerals magazine.

 

Santelli, C.M., Chaput, D.L. & Hansel, C.M. 2014. Microbial communities promoting Mn(II) oxidation in Ashumet Pond, a historically polluted freshwater pond undergoing remediation. Geomicrobiology Journal http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01490451.2013.875605

Toplis, M.J., Mizzon, H., Monnereau, M., Forni, O., McSween, H.Y., Mittlefehldt, D.W., McCoy, T.J., Prettyman, T.H., De Sanctis, M.C., Raymond, C.A. & Russell, C.T. 2013. Chondritic models of 4 Vesta: Implications for geochemical and geophysical properties. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 48, 2300-2315.