Microminerals of Italy taly has experienced an extremely varied geological history, resulting in a great number of rock types and parageneses.  These in turn have lead  to an amazing number of mineral species.  In fact, it would be hard to find any country of a similar size with so many.  Further,  a substantial fraction of these species occur in truly beautiful micro crystals.  This talk will show these species arranged by their chemistry and paragenesis.

Microminerals of the Palabora Mine, South Africa The Palabora Mine, located near the town of Phalaborwa (yes, the spellings are correct) is working in a carbonatite rock.  Carbonatites are extremely rare, igneous rocks composed mostly of calcite.  Several elments found only in trace amounts in granites, etc., are concentrated in carbonatites, and these crystallize to form rare minerals.  In most cases, such minerals are massive or, more properly, anhedral.  Only rarely are the minerals at Palabora or elsewhere found in open cavities where thay form nice specimens.  Examples of such, obtained by exchange with the mine superintendent no less, are shown in this talk.

Microminerals of Etruscan Slags In pre-Roman days, the Etruscans mined ores on the island of Elba, where Napoleon was exiled, and carried them by sea by the thousands of tons per year to the region of Populonia on the Italian mainland. There, they were smelted, but only poorly, leaving much metal behind in gas cavities in the slags.  This metal has reacted over time with sea water to form a variety of attractive microminerals such as fiedlerite, barstowite, shattuckite, spangolite and very rare species such as elyite and gerhardtite.   This talk will cover and show 25 of the 44 slag species  found at Populonia.

Special Thanks to the Mineral Dealers Below for their donations to the 2008 Silent Auction Sauktown Sales Visit Jim Daly’s website http://www.sauktown.com/ to find a wide selection of micros, both mounted and unmounted. He also has thumbnail specimens from the Fred Dryer collection for sale. Jim’s trip reports around Michigan and to the great southwest are wonderful, too. ConnRox Minerals ConnRox Minerals is devoted to supplying the mineral community with quality specimens at reasonable prices. We deal primarily in crystal specimens, loose or in matrix. http://www.connroxminerals.com/ Visit Connecticut geologist Larry Rush online, schedule an appointment, or see him at the Gilsum Rock Swap every summer. Larry is well respected for his fine worldwide selection of minerals, stories, jokes, books and swap lists. Dan & Diana Weinrich Dealers in Fine Mineral Specimens - Since 1989 Latest Updates: Excellent items from the Viburnum Trend and Midwest/Mideast U.S. localities