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Recently listed online by Roberto Rojas of Minerat minerals is a remarkable specimen of kröhnkite & blödite from Coronel Manuel Rodriguez Mine, Mejillones, Antofagasta, Chile.
At 25cm across the bright blue kröhnkite would be impressive in its own...
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Back in early 2004 I offered a suite of minerals from Palabora mine collected by John Gliddon when he worked there.
This specimen was part of that collection that never sold and became misplaced in our stock system.
It was discovered recently dusty and...
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We didn't quite get to 50000 uploaded items during the first year of the "new" e-Rocks website, but we were very close!
Here we are 3 days later and courtesy of Volker Betz with a whitlockite specimen from Tip Top Mine, South Dakota, USA we crossed the...
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Andyrobertsite and calcioandyrobertsite are two fascinating mineral species present in a single very famous specimen from Tsumeb. This superb specimen was featured in the cover of the Mineralogical Record vol.30, num. 3, May-June 1999, jointly with the...
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What a great start to Munich Show 2015 it has been.
We arrived at the Show at around 1400Hrs local time and things were already buzzing.
Almost immediately we were directed to the booth of Wendell Minerals to look three! cabinet sized fluorite specimens...
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Just approved and pending publication here is news of yet another vanadate mineral, and this time by coincidence it has a "van" in the name.
Vandermeerscheite is a new mineral chemically similar to carnotite.
Vandermeerscheite
K2[(UO2)2V2O8]·2H2O...
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At this time on Thursday 3rd September 2015 we were busy finishing the change over from the old e-Rocks site to the new.
Later that evening the first sold specimen, CMM220188 Pentagonite from India hit the order table.
Since that time another 103380...
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Back on the old e-Rocks, in January we introduced our first "spin presentation" for minerals displayed online.
The concept is quite simple - you set up a camera and synchronise the stepped revolution of a turntable with the camera shutter to take a...
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Today was the first ever Leyburn show up there in the Yorkshire Dales.
Hosted by Tennant's Auctioneers there was an auction of minerals alongside the show at their fantastic premises.
In the picture is one of the lots as described in the catalogue;
"A...
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There has been a sensational recent find of fluorite in Connemara, County Galway, in the Republic of Ireland.
TVM has been given exclusive access to the locality and has been given first refusal to the material released by the owners.
Map of Connemara,...
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On 1st October 2017 there will be some changes to the e-Rocks.com business plus the Terms & Conditions.
The e-Rocks.com business will be transferring from our current Thames Valley Minerals ownership to a new company registered in the UK, e-Rocks Ltd...
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On the morning of the fifth of August 1898, a large rock entered the atmosphere over Maine, USA. Traveling at around 50 times faster than Concorde, it plunged from frictionless space into ever thickening layers of air. Atmospheric ram pressure began...
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Facebook friend and collector Michael Pfeil posted a gallery of fine micro photos of specimens collected in the Bergischen Land area of North Rhine - Westphalia.
Here is a translation of his album introduction and a few of his 165 photos.
"In this album...
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I have just been updating 2 new minerals recently added to the e-Rocks database and made a sad but interesting discovery about the name.
Edtollite and alumoedtollite are comparatively newly IMA approved minerals pending publication.
Edtollite Minerals...
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Of course earthquakes are not funny, but this report on Facebook did make me laugh....thanks to my Facebook friend Matt Houston for the report.
Matt Houston - "Just had an earth quake here. 9.43"
Other - "That's a very strong earthquake - Do you think we...
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As we push back on May and head into June a final quick blog with 2 bits of new information.
Nollmotzite (Mg[U5+(U6+O2)2O4F3]·4H2O)
A new mineral, IMA approved pending publication due.
Nollmotzite is the first naturally occurring uranium, uranyl...
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It has now been 3 years since George joined us at TVM and a week since joining e-Rocks ltd!
To celebrate he went off on his own this week to appraise and buy a mineral collection down in the West Country.
We received a lead about the collection a few...
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In the current YourSystemmaticCollection (YSC) auction closing tonight, as well as the usual range of rare minerals there is another mineral first seen here on e-Rocks.
George was talking with Roberto Bracco of YSC at Munich and told us to look out for...
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Another nice day out in Cornwall for Mike Berry & Mike Merry.
On this trip they visited Perran St George Mine, Perranporth, Cornwall during a Spring tide, when the entrance is better exposed.
Spectacular scenery and a couple of nice micros of...
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I have been interested in and collected Romanian minerals since 1975, I don't recall seeing a quartz crystal in section before.
This novelty specimen of quartz from Herja Romania shows some interesting internal features.
A crystal section cut and...
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Jasun and Mandy McAvoy, AKA Mineralman999 have been recently showing off this fine and historic gem topaz crystal.
The crystal itself is a well terminated gem specimen from Murzinka, Ekaterinburg, Middle Urals, Russia and at 3.1cm x 2.7cm x 2.5cm it is...
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Today (23rd October) we notched up item #680000 into our specimen database, completing another 10,000 increment to the catalogue.
The honoured rock is a specimen of Cleusonite from Fibbia, Ticino in Switzerland. The specimen was listed by Soenke Stolze...
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Here is a tremendous specimen recently posted by Facebook friend and fellow collector Yasuichi Okazaki in Japan.
The specimen 37mm X 26mm X 46mm is primarily sphalerite crystals but intergrown with bright gold wires.
In his post Yasuichi goes on to...
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A feature we have added to the new e-Rocks is a simple "add Mineral photo" posting tool.
We wanted to give all collaborators on the site an option to post mineral photos (without going through a collection/full upload.)
We have a simple quick option...
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Well not really, but as things have quietened down a bit in the week since launch it seemed a good opportunity to display a few minerals myself.
The barite samples are placed in a new feature page for single item listings - Open Market.
Open Market can...
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We just put this specimen of realgar and quartz out onto the website for an upcoming auction.
Recovered in circa 2000 just before the "big find" of realgar at Baia Sprie, this specimen displays wonderful contrast between the white and greys of the...
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This amazing specimen of dolomite was collected today from the mines at Trepca in Kosovo.
Well known for its excellent common sulphide and carbonate crystallisation, I have never seen on like this before!
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A few weeks ago I was contacted by a local family who had a quantity of minerals, fossils and shells they had acquired during their times abroad in the Arabian Gulf.
They live only a few minutes from TV Towers so there was no difficulty in visiting to...
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Friday is the first open day of the show, namely for dealers and professionals.
As usual footfall is usually up along with the protective film on the carpets!
Our job today was to help with Christian Rewitzer on his booth, plus meet with customers to...
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EDS confirmed galloplumbogummite spheres (pictures 1-5; picture no. can be seen by mouse overlay on the pictures below) in germanite renierite ore, accompanied by otjisumeite needles (pictures 8-10), unknown bright phase (lead phospate without Cl,...
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Back in November 2011 I offered this specimen in my birthday auction.
It is still one of my favourite Weardale specimens ever.
Here is its listing
Fluorite
Heights Quarry, County Durham, United Kingdom
Miniature (4.5-7 cm)
Size: H:4.8cm x W:4.8cm x D:4....
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In the world of minerals different localities can often be distinguished by variations in morphology and or associations; for example it is comparatively easy to determine that a dioptase specimen was collected in Tsumeb over say Kaokoveld or Altyn.
I...
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We recently uncovered a specimen of botroidal marcasite and siderite from Hector Mine near Ibbenbüren in Münsterland (North-West Germany).
The specimen itself is typical of the "schalen" or shell type ore formations distributed across this area famous...
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We just acquired a little stash of Peruvian silver minerals and received a nice surprise when we discovered one of the boxes was double layered with these little pill boxes underneath.
Unfortunately there are no labels on the boxes so there is no way of...
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Back in 2009 after Munich show I did a flit back to the Czech Republic to pick up a big consignment of Dalnegorsk minerals - some 40 flats. They are still going strong, here is a galena and manganoan calcite combination that came out this week.
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At the beginning of last week I posted the above picture of Realgar and Native Arsenic on my Facebook page with the caption "Toxic red stuff for Monday".
Beautiful red crystals of realgar against a black and white background do look great in detail.
My...
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Now veteran e-Rocks seller Ikram Muhammad of Pakistan Minerals celebrates his birthday today.
Marking the occasion is the finale of his birthday auction, featuring this cracking specimen of beryl var vorobyevite from Afghanistan.
Vorobyevite is a...
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Nearly 3 years ago now, we checked out and invested in "spin" technology for capturing 360 degree presentation of minerals.
The concept is simple, you set your mineral centre on a turntable and then control the movement of the turntable with your camera...
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Congratulations to Chris Spiromitros of Greekrocks - he has just updated/upgraded his website.
He is also the first Dealer to put his e-Rocks auctions on his website using our Page App.
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Salvatore Natalizia is continuing with the sale of his mineral collection today with another 107 items closing tonight.
Some really excellent and quite large classic specimens are on offer - see photo gallery below, or follow the link to the auction....
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The Hampshire Mineral & Fossil show is on Saturday 5th September at its usual venue in Lyndhurst Community Centre.
Time: 10:00am - 16:30pm.
The Hampshire show although small is always well attended and usually has some nice things to see, with...
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This fine red vanadinite TN didn't make the buyer's cut in last night's auction and remained unsold.
Look out for it in our next TVM Mixed auction later in April for a second chance - it will be reduced to $5 start...
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George turned up today with a little collection of mainly Scottish Minerals.
This is some native silver from Alva Mine, Central Scotland.
8mm across - rare stuff!
The discovery of a native silver deposit in 1715 also coincided with the Jacobite rebellion...
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This unusual specimen featured in my Christmas auction in 2013/2014.
Smithsonite Psm Calcite.
Whatley Quarry, Somerset, UK.
Size: H:12.7cm x W:9.4cm x D:6.6cm
Largest Crystal: 2cm
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A quick glance at this piece and it looks like a good pink cobaltoan smithsonite specimen from Tsumeb, but when you check more closely the habit and the matrix is very different; this is because it has originated from Berg Aukus!
Quite a revelation as...
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A feature of the new website is the ability of our Database and your catalogue to hold and display items by Provenance.
Behind the scenes we provide a whole inventory system that connects minerals to people, collectors, historic dealers and institutions...
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Here we are enjoying a fairly non mineralogical week away in Harlech, Wales.
This seagull apparently comes with the rental, certainly knows when the meal times are, and if not on time will tap at the window.
As seagulls go, he is very placid.
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Terlingua 1936
The Terlingua quicksilver district is a narrow, east-west area about 20 miles long, in the southern part of the Big Bend region of southwestern Texas. The cinnabar deposit was discovered by Comanche Native Americans, who used it for war-...
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For those who regularly use our Search feature to find minerals listed on e-Rocks, we have just launched a new feature to help get to the latest items.
We have created a new filter in your relevant search results that will allow you to view any minerals...
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The Shinkolobwe radium mine, 1922. The Belgian mining engineer above is sitting on a 7 ton boulder of pitchblende. An immense quantity of gamma-rays is irradiating his gonads. Safety equipment, a tie and a pith helmet.
Unknowable to to the engineer,...
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Gwennap Pit started out as a sharp indentation in the landscape caused by mining subsidence in the mid C18th.
It gained a reputation as an outdoor "church" when John Welsey preached there no less than 18 times between 1762 and 1789.
After Wesley's death...
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It is always interesting when a seller messages me because a mineral isn't listed on our main database.
Jason Boyd Smith, AKA Bucket of Holes made such a request for the mineral "Schmidite" yesterday.
Sure enough it was not listed with us, and further...
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As an online seller it is always good to hear something we have sent out has been received and lived up to expectations.
Here is one from Leor Goldberg recently published on Facebook.
Recent acquisition! Gypsum with included thometzekite on matrix. Both...
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Hoganite
Hoganite and paceite (along with calclacite) are currently the only known minerals containing the organic acetate ion (CH3CHO2)-
Minerals Containing the Acetate (Ethanoate) Ion
Calclacite
Ca(CH3COO)Cl · 5H2O
Hoganite
Cu(CH3COO)2 · H2O...
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A little self indulgence here; not only is liroconite one of the "holy grail" UK minerals, it is one of my favourites!
This specimen listed by Carsten is small but exhibits excellent crystals, and is beautifully photographed!
Check out the other photos...
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George and I are back from our Christmas road trip into Germany via Belgium and France.
What we didn't pick up in minerals we certainly made up for with adventure and festive fun.
Normal service with email replies etc will return from today, after a bit...
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Introduction:
A few months ago I came across the mineral aldridegeite in the IMA list of minerals whilst doing some research. This sulphate mineral is a member of the develline group first discovered and only found at Broken Hill, New South Wales,...
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Today 30 December is the last day of auctions for e-Rocks in 2017, and quite a year it has been both on and off "the pitch".
The Piatek Minerals auction closing at 23:40 tonight will be the final and 1839th auction during 2017; a year when we have...
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This leiteite specimen from the Uerpmann collection recently posted on Facebook brought back fond memories of the man who's name was given to the mineral back in 1977.
Leiteite was named to honour Luis Antonio Bravo Teixeira-Leite (1942–1999), Portuguese...
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It is time to announce the latest 10,000 minerals have been added to the e-Rocks database, this time it is an all American honour - or should I say honor?
Michael Cline of Uravan Minerals (USA) brought up item 660000 earlier today with his listing of a...
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As many will already know we maintain a daily blog of new listings, auctions closing and photography over on the e-Rocks Facebook page.
Over the last 18 months we have built quite a following and it is thanks to our Sellers, and Visitors that we've...
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March Oxford show is the first of the 2016 series of Oxford shows.
A small show but quite well attended this time was no different; it is a good opportunity to meet up with people after the winter months and Tucson.
Personally suffering from "Manflu" I...
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Following on from reading about pit-men discovering very substantial (6m long, 3m high and 1m wide) vugs in the witherite at the Morrison Busty Colliery, I’ve uncovered another spectacular occurance of walk-in “crystal caves in coal mines.”
About 56...
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e-Rocks seller and field collector Tasos Tsinidis has recently been collecting these fine sanidine specimens at the locality, Kakourou Peak, Promachoi, Pella Prefecture, Central Macedonia, Greece.
Tasos also kindly posted these photos of the collecting...
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I am sure regular visitors to e-Rocks will remember a few "charity" auctions posted by Roger Lang, Montanpark we ran some months back.
These auctions were run by Roger to raise funds for LED display lighting for his local Mineral Museum at Imsbach,...
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Jill Brunner's listing of anglesite with galena inclusion from Tsumeb has just chalked up item #630000, or 130,000 items added to the e-Rocks database since we renumbered the inventory in October 2015.
Previously we reported item #620000 was added on 31...
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So goes the advertising strapline, and my reaction to seeing this photograph of gold bars, coins, nuggets and mineral ore/specimens.
The haul of 30,000lbs, approx 1.5 tonnes was recovered from the wreck of the SS Central America from deep of off the...
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Here is another odd mineral featured in Armin Scholer's current auction.
Kaiyuhite was first proposed as a new mineral back in the 1980s by young mining geologist Tony Dunn, who had noticed and collected this silver-grey metallic material whilst...
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We have been referring to e-Rocks as a website, this is true but actually it is 5 websites, each with its own job and connections to other websites and media outside.
The picture shows our internal structure and how everything is wired together so that...
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Coldberry Gutter is a prominent scar in the hills high above the Weardale and Teesdale valleys at the head of Bow Lee and Hudeshope valleys, within County Durham, UK.
Location of Coldberry Gutter
All across this area there are a number of "hushes...
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13th & 14th August 2016 is a date for all UK based collectors to add to your diaries....
........there is a new show being added to the UK mineral show circuit.
Derbyshire based Don Edwards in conjunction with Tennants Auctioneers are launching the...
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I found this petrified “hamburger” among the landscaping cobbles at my old house. It is a water-worn limestone rock that has a layer of fossilized creatures. We keep it on display in a McDonald’s container and bring it out for show and tell regularly....
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Something we do not see very often (maybe twice a year), the administrator's "auction items closing panel" for the next 24 hours is blank!
This means we don't have any auctions closing on Christmas Day, but we will be back on Boxing Day with a full...
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Late in July George & I had the good fortune to travel up to Weardale to attend the Weardale Mineral Show in St Johns Chapel.
We had a fantastic time and a big thumbs up must go to Enrico Rinaldi for doing all the organisation and staging of the...
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On 12th August 2005 we relocated family and business to what we affectionately call Thames Valley Towers in Twyford, Reading.
I thought it would be fun to reproduce and share our original posting covering the event, funny how 10 years later though not...
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It is approaching the second anniversary of George joining the e-Rocks team; so after a record 24 consecutive "Employee of the Month" awards we thought it time to reward him with a nice trip to Spain.
The upshot to this will be that we are going to be...
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2 weeks to go until this year's Rock Exchange - AKA Bakewell Show.
Always great to attend for 2 show days of minerals and catch-up with people from all over the UK and further afield.
10th and 11th October, 2015
Lady Manners School,
Bakewell,...
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Giuseppe Siccardi of Yourmineral Collection in Italy emailed me at the end of last month to tell me of some changes with his business.
Giuseppe has been trading under Yourmineral collection (item code YMC) with e-Rocks since the end of 2007.
Now 10 years...
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Or maybe a better question "What did Monty Python ever do for us?" - well they gave us the wonderful quote "What did the Romans..." to introduce any article about Roman civilisation or technology!
Seller Baltasar Sanchez from Spain has been kind enough...
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Once again whilst researching and updating a new mineral I came across another interesting figure behind the mineral name.
This time the mineral was gorbunovite - the citation from the IMA proposal is in the box below.
Gorbunovite
The mineral is named...
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In the office this morning I worked out some interesting e-Rocks facts for the last year.
In 2016 we have run 1555 auctions with 59,373 listings added to the site. We have sold 49,161 items.
Also in 2016 we have served 629,183 visitors with 6.45M pages...
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Here is some information about an article published on the BBC website yesterday concerning a paper shortly to appear in the American Mineralogist.
Authored by Dr Robert Hazen, from the Carnegie Institution in Washington DC, and Prof Jesse Ausubel of The...
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This super quality pure blue Lapis polished freeform 77cm tall and weighing over 48Kg is going under the hammer next month at an auction in Billingshurst, Kent, UK.
The auctioneers estimate is £5,000 - £7,000 - see link below.
Looks a really good one,...
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Mike Merry, Cornish Collector and Dealer of Minerals and Bottles took some spectacular photos of the the Cligga cliffs in Cornwall whilst out collecting.
Captured on a sunny June day (15 June 2015) the weather and sea were just about perfect.
To crown it...
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Back in 1996 I was lucky enough to be involved in a little digging project on a dump near the main shaft at Boltsburn mine.
The dig did not generate very much in the way of specimen quality material, though there were some signs of potential, however we...
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Expert photographer and mineral collector from Austria, Andreas Schmid has recently being showing some excellent photographs using a light source at an extreme angle to the faces of the subject crystals.
I would have trouble explaining the physics...
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It is that time of year again and I am sure you will have noticed a number of "Munich" themed auctions lining up on the schedule.
Suffice to say there have been some tremendous minerals coming through and still more to come over the next week or so, and...
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Six o'clock tonight was the end of our last full day at Munich 2016.
We are back tomorrow but will be leaving early to travel back to the UK.
Some great memories of the show this year but only just enough time for meeting and speaking to everyone we...
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Today being "set up" day proper the show was generally a bit quieter as people got on with the final preparations before opening tomorrow.
George and I have been very busy meeting people and doing a lot of talking - a lot of talking!!
In Hall A5 George...
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As it is my birthday today I thought this little bit of mineral related trivia would brighten up the day.
Early last year I was listing an aragonite (and gypsum) specimen from Tomnadashan Mine, Wester Tullich, Loch Tay, Scotland.
An intrguing...
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George and I were on the road early today to visit the 2017 Sussex Mineral & Lapidary Society Show (SMLS) at Haywards Heath.
This was the first time we have been to the show since 2010; e-Rocker Trevor Devon also Treasurer of the SMLS suggested we...
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Having worked with Madagascan minerals over a number of years, grandidierite has always been a interesting and hard to get hold of mineral.
The story went that there were a few localities close to each other in the south of Madagascar near Fort Dauphin;...
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The Hampshire Mineral & Fossil show is on Saturday 3rd September this being the first anniversary of the current e-Rocks site launch!
I am sure we will conjure up something to mark the event...
....meanwhile the mineral show is at its usual venue in...
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Whilst sorting through some Tsumeb minerals recently we came across this label, with the dealer information cut off.
All we had to go on was the hand writing and a "crossed hammers" symbol on the left.
With a little help and research we have traced this...
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The Christmas Holidays are nearly upon us and it is time to launch "Mark & Christian's Christmas Cracker 2015".
This is the 9th annual cracker auction and this year Christian Rewitzer and I have filled it with some diverse and interesting minerals....
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You may have noticed today's home page centre has changed; usually we display "today's auctions closing", but today we are showing "all auctions". There is a simple reason for this.
Because of demand from our sellers, we have had to increase our schedule...
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For those of you who check out my personal timeline on Facebook you will already be aware that I keep this fed with a steady stream of mineral photographs and sometimes (not so) witty captions!
I just do this for a bit of entertainment and interaction as...
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You know you’re a rockhound when cries of “Froodite! I’ve got froodite” are heard echoing from the rafters. And before you step back in alarm, it’s not contagious… it’s the name of a mineral.
Please, allow me to make introductions. My husband Reiner and...
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A bit of a surprise showed up today when going through some Madagascan specimens for auction.
Packed away in thumbnail box labelled "Tourmaline Rubellite - Ambalamatsara" was this super little specimen of scheelite from Baia Sprie - Romania.
These much...
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Out for a run last night and listening to the radio, in particular an excerpt about Greek mythology being discussed by Stephen Fry.
Not my usual digest but it has been one of those weeks!
Anyway the piece was about Dionysus the Ancient Greek god of wine...
Blog entryRecently listed online by Roberto Rojas of Minerat minerals is a remarkable specimen of kröhnkite & blödite from Coronel Manuel Rodriguez Mine, Mejillones, Antofagasta, Chile. At 25cm across the bright blue kröhnkite would be impressive in its own...
Blog entryBack in early 2004 I offered a suite of minerals from Palabora mine collected by John Gliddon when he worked there. This specimen was part of that collection that never sold and became misplaced in our stock system. It was discovered recently dusty and...
Blog entryWe didn't quite get to 50000 uploaded items during the first year of the "new" e-Rocks website, but we were very close! Here we are 3 days later and courtesy of Volker Betz with a whitlockite specimen from Tip Top Mine, South Dakota, USA we crossed the...
Blog entryAndyrobertsite and calcioandyrobertsite are two fascinating mineral species present in a single very famous specimen from Tsumeb. This superb specimen was featured in the cover of the Mineralogical Record vol.30, num. 3, May-June 1999, jointly with the...
Blog entryWhat a great start to Munich Show 2015 it has been. We arrived at the Show at around 1400Hrs local time and things were already buzzing. Almost immediately we were directed to the booth of Wendell Minerals to look three! cabinet sized fluorite specimens...
Blog entryJust approved and pending publication here is news of yet another vanadate mineral, and this time by coincidence it has a "van" in the name. Vandermeerscheite is a new mineral chemically similar to carnotite. Vandermeerscheite K2[(UO2)2V2O8]·2H2O...
Blog entryAt this time on Thursday 3rd September 2015 we were busy finishing the change over from the old e-Rocks site to the new. Later that evening the first sold specimen, CMM220188 Pentagonite from India hit the order table. Since that time another 103380...
Blog entryBack on the old e-Rocks, in January we introduced our first "spin presentation" for minerals displayed online. The concept is quite simple - you set up a camera and synchronise the stepped revolution of a turntable with the camera shutter to take a...
Blog entryToday was the first ever Leyburn show up there in the Yorkshire Dales. Hosted by Tennant's Auctioneers there was an auction of minerals alongside the show at their fantastic premises. In the picture is one of the lots as described in the catalogue; "A...
Blog entryThere has been a sensational recent find of fluorite in Connemara, County Galway, in the Republic of Ireland. TVM has been given exclusive access to the locality and has been given first refusal to the material released by the owners. Map of Connemara,...
Blog entryOn 1st October 2017 there will be some changes to the e-Rocks.com business plus the Terms & Conditions. The e-Rocks.com business will be transferring from our current Thames Valley Minerals ownership to a new company registered in the UK, e-Rocks Ltd...
Blog entryOn the morning of the fifth of August 1898, a large rock entered the atmosphere over Maine, USA. Traveling at around 50 times faster than Concorde, it plunged from frictionless space into ever thickening layers of air. Atmospheric ram pressure began...
Blog entryFacebook friend and collector Michael Pfeil posted a gallery of fine micro photos of specimens collected in the Bergischen Land area of North Rhine - Westphalia. Here is a translation of his album introduction and a few of his 165 photos. "In this album...
Blog entryI have just been updating 2 new minerals recently added to the e-Rocks database and made a sad but interesting discovery about the name. Edtollite and alumoedtollite are comparatively newly IMA approved minerals pending publication. Edtollite Minerals...
Blog entryOf course earthquakes are not funny, but this report on Facebook did make me laugh....thanks to my Facebook friend Matt Houston for the report. Matt Houston - "Just had an earth quake here. 9.43" Other - "That's a very strong earthquake - Do you think we...
Blog entryAs we push back on May and head into June a final quick blog with 2 bits of new information. Nollmotzite (Mg[U5+(U6+O2)2O4F3]·4H2O) A new mineral, IMA approved pending publication due. Nollmotzite is the first naturally occurring uranium, uranyl...
Blog entryIt has now been 3 years since George joined us at TVM and a week since joining e-Rocks ltd! To celebrate he went off on his own this week to appraise and buy a mineral collection down in the West Country. We received a lead about the collection a few...
Blog entryIn the current YourSystemmaticCollection (YSC) auction closing tonight, as well as the usual range of rare minerals there is another mineral first seen here on e-Rocks. George was talking with Roberto Bracco of YSC at Munich and told us to look out for...
Blog entryAnother nice day out in Cornwall for Mike Berry & Mike Merry. On this trip they visited Perran St George Mine, Perranporth, Cornwall during a Spring tide, when the entrance is better exposed. Spectacular scenery and a couple of nice micros of...
Blog entryI have been interested in and collected Romanian minerals since 1975, I don't recall seeing a quartz crystal in section before. This novelty specimen of quartz from Herja Romania shows some interesting internal features. A crystal section cut and...
Blog entryJasun and Mandy McAvoy, AKA Mineralman999 have been recently showing off this fine and historic gem topaz crystal. The crystal itself is a well terminated gem specimen from Murzinka, Ekaterinburg, Middle Urals, Russia and at 3.1cm x 2.7cm x 2.5cm it is...
Blog entryToday (23rd October) we notched up item #680000 into our specimen database, completing another 10,000 increment to the catalogue. The honoured rock is a specimen of Cleusonite from Fibbia, Ticino in Switzerland. The specimen was listed by Soenke Stolze...
Blog entryHere is a tremendous specimen recently posted by Facebook friend and fellow collector Yasuichi Okazaki in Japan. The specimen 37mm X 26mm X 46mm is primarily sphalerite crystals but intergrown with bright gold wires. In his post Yasuichi goes on to...
Blog entryA feature we have added to the new e-Rocks is a simple "add Mineral photo" posting tool. We wanted to give all collaborators on the site an option to post mineral photos (without going through a collection/full upload.) We have a simple quick option...
Blog entryWell not really, but as things have quietened down a bit in the week since launch it seemed a good opportunity to display a few minerals myself. The barite samples are placed in a new feature page for single item listings - Open Market. Open Market can...
Blog entryWe just put this specimen of realgar and quartz out onto the website for an upcoming auction. Recovered in circa 2000 just before the "big find" of realgar at Baia Sprie, this specimen displays wonderful contrast between the white and greys of the...
Blog entryThis amazing specimen of dolomite was collected today from the mines at Trepca in Kosovo. Well known for its excellent common sulphide and carbonate crystallisation, I have never seen on like this before!
Blog entryA few weeks ago I was contacted by a local family who had a quantity of minerals, fossils and shells they had acquired during their times abroad in the Arabian Gulf. They live only a few minutes from TV Towers so there was no difficulty in visiting to...
Blog entryFriday is the first open day of the show, namely for dealers and professionals. As usual footfall is usually up along with the protective film on the carpets! Our job today was to help with Christian Rewitzer on his booth, plus meet with customers to...
Blog entryEDS confirmed galloplumbogummite spheres (pictures 1-5; picture no. can be seen by mouse overlay on the pictures below) in germanite renierite ore, accompanied by otjisumeite needles (pictures 8-10), unknown bright phase (lead phospate without Cl,...
Blog entryBack in November 2011 I offered this specimen in my birthday auction. It is still one of my favourite Weardale specimens ever. Here is its listing Fluorite Heights Quarry, County Durham, United Kingdom Miniature (4.5-7 cm) Size: H:4.8cm x W:4.8cm x D:4....
Blog entryIn the world of minerals different localities can often be distinguished by variations in morphology and or associations; for example it is comparatively easy to determine that a dioptase specimen was collected in Tsumeb over say Kaokoveld or Altyn. I...
Blog entryWe recently uncovered a specimen of botroidal marcasite and siderite from Hector Mine near Ibbenbüren in Münsterland (North-West Germany). The specimen itself is typical of the "schalen" or shell type ore formations distributed across this area famous...
Blog entryWe just acquired a little stash of Peruvian silver minerals and received a nice surprise when we discovered one of the boxes was double layered with these little pill boxes underneath. Unfortunately there are no labels on the boxes so there is no way of...
Blog entryBack in 2009 after Munich show I did a flit back to the Czech Republic to pick up a big consignment of Dalnegorsk minerals - some 40 flats. They are still going strong, here is a galena and manganoan calcite combination that came out this week.
Blog entryAt the beginning of last week I posted the above picture of Realgar and Native Arsenic on my Facebook page with the caption "Toxic red stuff for Monday". Beautiful red crystals of realgar against a black and white background do look great in detail. My...
Blog entryNow veteran e-Rocks seller Ikram Muhammad of Pakistan Minerals celebrates his birthday today. Marking the occasion is the finale of his birthday auction, featuring this cracking specimen of beryl var vorobyevite from Afghanistan. Vorobyevite is a...
Blog entryNearly 3 years ago now, we checked out and invested in "spin" technology for capturing 360 degree presentation of minerals. The concept is simple, you set your mineral centre on a turntable and then control the movement of the turntable with your camera...
Blog entryCongratulations to Chris Spiromitros of Greekrocks - he has just updated/upgraded his website. He is also the first Dealer to put his e-Rocks auctions on his website using our Page App.
Blog entrySalvatore Natalizia is continuing with the sale of his mineral collection today with another 107 items closing tonight. Some really excellent and quite large classic specimens are on offer - see photo gallery below, or follow the link to the auction....
Blog entryThe Hampshire Mineral & Fossil show is on Saturday 5th September at its usual venue in Lyndhurst Community Centre. Time: 10:00am - 16:30pm. The Hampshire show although small is always well attended and usually has some nice things to see, with...
Blog entryThis fine red vanadinite TN didn't make the buyer's cut in last night's auction and remained unsold. Look out for it in our next TVM Mixed auction later in April for a second chance - it will be reduced to $5 start...
Blog entryGeorge turned up today with a little collection of mainly Scottish Minerals. This is some native silver from Alva Mine, Central Scotland. 8mm across - rare stuff! The discovery of a native silver deposit in 1715 also coincided with the Jacobite rebellion...
Blog entryThis unusual specimen featured in my Christmas auction in 2013/2014. Smithsonite Psm Calcite. Whatley Quarry, Somerset, UK. Size: H:12.7cm x W:9.4cm x D:6.6cm Largest Crystal: 2cm
Blog entryA quick glance at this piece and it looks like a good pink cobaltoan smithsonite specimen from Tsumeb, but when you check more closely the habit and the matrix is very different; this is because it has originated from Berg Aukus! Quite a revelation as...
Blog entryA feature of the new website is the ability of our Database and your catalogue to hold and display items by Provenance. Behind the scenes we provide a whole inventory system that connects minerals to people, collectors, historic dealers and institutions...
Blog entryHere we are enjoying a fairly non mineralogical week away in Harlech, Wales. This seagull apparently comes with the rental, certainly knows when the meal times are, and if not on time will tap at the window. As seagulls go, he is very placid.
Blog entryTerlingua 1936 The Terlingua quicksilver district is a narrow, east-west area about 20 miles long, in the southern part of the Big Bend region of southwestern Texas. The cinnabar deposit was discovered by Comanche Native Americans, who used it for war-...
Blog entryFor those who regularly use our Search feature to find minerals listed on e-Rocks, we have just launched a new feature to help get to the latest items. We have created a new filter in your relevant search results that will allow you to view any minerals...
Blog entryThe Shinkolobwe radium mine, 1922. The Belgian mining engineer above is sitting on a 7 ton boulder of pitchblende. An immense quantity of gamma-rays is irradiating his gonads. Safety equipment, a tie and a pith helmet. Unknowable to to the engineer,...
Blog entryGwennap Pit started out as a sharp indentation in the landscape caused by mining subsidence in the mid C18th. It gained a reputation as an outdoor "church" when John Welsey preached there no less than 18 times between 1762 and 1789. After Wesley's death...
Blog entryIt is always interesting when a seller messages me because a mineral isn't listed on our main database. Jason Boyd Smith, AKA Bucket of Holes made such a request for the mineral "Schmidite" yesterday. Sure enough it was not listed with us, and further...
Blog entryAs an online seller it is always good to hear something we have sent out has been received and lived up to expectations. Here is one from Leor Goldberg recently published on Facebook. Recent acquisition! Gypsum with included thometzekite on matrix. Both...
Blog entryHoganite Hoganite and paceite (along with calclacite) are currently the only known minerals containing the organic acetate ion (CH3CHO2)- Minerals Containing the Acetate (Ethanoate) Ion Calclacite Ca(CH3COO)Cl · 5H2O Hoganite Cu(CH3COO)2 · H2O...
Blog entryA little self indulgence here; not only is liroconite one of the "holy grail" UK minerals, it is one of my favourites! This specimen listed by Carsten is small but exhibits excellent crystals, and is beautifully photographed! Check out the other photos...
Blog entryGeorge and I are back from our Christmas road trip into Germany via Belgium and France. What we didn't pick up in minerals we certainly made up for with adventure and festive fun. Normal service with email replies etc will return from today, after a bit...
Blog entryIntroduction: A few months ago I came across the mineral aldridegeite in the IMA list of minerals whilst doing some research. This sulphate mineral is a member of the develline group first discovered and only found at Broken Hill, New South Wales,...
Blog entryToday 30 December is the last day of auctions for e-Rocks in 2017, and quite a year it has been both on and off "the pitch". The Piatek Minerals auction closing at 23:40 tonight will be the final and 1839th auction during 2017; a year when we have...
Blog entryThis leiteite specimen from the Uerpmann collection recently posted on Facebook brought back fond memories of the man who's name was given to the mineral back in 1977. Leiteite was named to honour Luis Antonio Bravo Teixeira-Leite (1942–1999), Portuguese...
Blog entryIt is time to announce the latest 10,000 minerals have been added to the e-Rocks database, this time it is an all American honour - or should I say honor? Michael Cline of Uravan Minerals (USA) brought up item 660000 earlier today with his listing of a...
Blog entryAs many will already know we maintain a daily blog of new listings, auctions closing and photography over on the e-Rocks Facebook page. Over the last 18 months we have built quite a following and it is thanks to our Sellers, and Visitors that we've...
Blog entryMarch Oxford show is the first of the 2016 series of Oxford shows. A small show but quite well attended this time was no different; it is a good opportunity to meet up with people after the winter months and Tucson. Personally suffering from "Manflu" I...
Blog entryFollowing on from reading about pit-men discovering very substantial (6m long, 3m high and 1m wide) vugs in the witherite at the Morrison Busty Colliery, I’ve uncovered another spectacular occurance of walk-in “crystal caves in coal mines.” About 56...
Blog entrye-Rocks seller and field collector Tasos Tsinidis has recently been collecting these fine sanidine specimens at the locality, Kakourou Peak, Promachoi, Pella Prefecture, Central Macedonia, Greece. Tasos also kindly posted these photos of the collecting...
Blog entryI am sure regular visitors to e-Rocks will remember a few "charity" auctions posted by Roger Lang, Montanpark we ran some months back. These auctions were run by Roger to raise funds for LED display lighting for his local Mineral Museum at Imsbach,...
Blog entryJill Brunner's listing of anglesite with galena inclusion from Tsumeb has just chalked up item #630000, or 130,000 items added to the e-Rocks database since we renumbered the inventory in October 2015. Previously we reported item #620000 was added on 31...
Blog entrySo goes the advertising strapline, and my reaction to seeing this photograph of gold bars, coins, nuggets and mineral ore/specimens. The haul of 30,000lbs, approx 1.5 tonnes was recovered from the wreck of the SS Central America from deep of off the...
Blog entryHere is another odd mineral featured in Armin Scholer's current auction. Kaiyuhite was first proposed as a new mineral back in the 1980s by young mining geologist Tony Dunn, who had noticed and collected this silver-grey metallic material whilst...
Blog entryWe have been referring to e-Rocks as a website, this is true but actually it is 5 websites, each with its own job and connections to other websites and media outside. The picture shows our internal structure and how everything is wired together so that...
Blog entryColdberry Gutter is a prominent scar in the hills high above the Weardale and Teesdale valleys at the head of Bow Lee and Hudeshope valleys, within County Durham, UK. Location of Coldberry Gutter All across this area there are a number of "hushes...
Blog entry13th & 14th August 2016 is a date for all UK based collectors to add to your diaries.... ........there is a new show being added to the UK mineral show circuit. Derbyshire based Don Edwards in conjunction with Tennants Auctioneers are launching the...
Blog entryI found this petrified “hamburger” among the landscaping cobbles at my old house. It is a water-worn limestone rock that has a layer of fossilized creatures. We keep it on display in a McDonald’s container and bring it out for show and tell regularly....
Blog entrySomething we do not see very often (maybe twice a year), the administrator's "auction items closing panel" for the next 24 hours is blank! This means we don't have any auctions closing on Christmas Day, but we will be back on Boxing Day with a full...
Blog entryLate in July George & I had the good fortune to travel up to Weardale to attend the Weardale Mineral Show in St Johns Chapel. We had a fantastic time and a big thumbs up must go to Enrico Rinaldi for doing all the organisation and staging of the...
Blog entryOn 12th August 2005 we relocated family and business to what we affectionately call Thames Valley Towers in Twyford, Reading. I thought it would be fun to reproduce and share our original posting covering the event, funny how 10 years later though not...
Blog entryIt is approaching the second anniversary of George joining the e-Rocks team; so after a record 24 consecutive "Employee of the Month" awards we thought it time to reward him with a nice trip to Spain. The upshot to this will be that we are going to be...
Blog entry2 weeks to go until this year's Rock Exchange - AKA Bakewell Show. Always great to attend for 2 show days of minerals and catch-up with people from all over the UK and further afield. 10th and 11th October, 2015 Lady Manners School, Bakewell,...
Blog entryGiuseppe Siccardi of Yourmineral Collection in Italy emailed me at the end of last month to tell me of some changes with his business. Giuseppe has been trading under Yourmineral collection (item code YMC) with e-Rocks since the end of 2007. Now 10 years...
Blog entryOr maybe a better question "What did Monty Python ever do for us?" - well they gave us the wonderful quote "What did the Romans..." to introduce any article about Roman civilisation or technology! Seller Baltasar Sanchez from Spain has been kind enough...
Blog entryOnce again whilst researching and updating a new mineral I came across another interesting figure behind the mineral name. This time the mineral was gorbunovite - the citation from the IMA proposal is in the box below. Gorbunovite The mineral is named...
Blog entryIn the office this morning I worked out some interesting e-Rocks facts for the last year. In 2016 we have run 1555 auctions with 59,373 listings added to the site. We have sold 49,161 items. Also in 2016 we have served 629,183 visitors with 6.45M pages...
Blog entryHere is some information about an article published on the BBC website yesterday concerning a paper shortly to appear in the American Mineralogist. Authored by Dr Robert Hazen, from the Carnegie Institution in Washington DC, and Prof Jesse Ausubel of The...
Blog entryThis super quality pure blue Lapis polished freeform 77cm tall and weighing over 48Kg is going under the hammer next month at an auction in Billingshurst, Kent, UK. The auctioneers estimate is £5,000 - £7,000 - see link below. Looks a really good one,...
Blog entryMike Merry, Cornish Collector and Dealer of Minerals and Bottles took some spectacular photos of the the Cligga cliffs in Cornwall whilst out collecting. Captured on a sunny June day (15 June 2015) the weather and sea were just about perfect. To crown it...
Blog entryBack in 1996 I was lucky enough to be involved in a little digging project on a dump near the main shaft at Boltsburn mine. The dig did not generate very much in the way of specimen quality material, though there were some signs of potential, however we...
Blog entryExpert photographer and mineral collector from Austria, Andreas Schmid has recently being showing some excellent photographs using a light source at an extreme angle to the faces of the subject crystals. I would have trouble explaining the physics...
Blog entryIt is that time of year again and I am sure you will have noticed a number of "Munich" themed auctions lining up on the schedule. Suffice to say there have been some tremendous minerals coming through and still more to come over the next week or so, and...
Blog entrySix o'clock tonight was the end of our last full day at Munich 2016. We are back tomorrow but will be leaving early to travel back to the UK. Some great memories of the show this year but only just enough time for meeting and speaking to everyone we...
Blog entryToday being "set up" day proper the show was generally a bit quieter as people got on with the final preparations before opening tomorrow. George and I have been very busy meeting people and doing a lot of talking - a lot of talking!! In Hall A5 George...
Blog entryAs it is my birthday today I thought this little bit of mineral related trivia would brighten up the day. Early last year I was listing an aragonite (and gypsum) specimen from Tomnadashan Mine, Wester Tullich, Loch Tay, Scotland. An intrguing...
Blog entryGeorge and I were on the road early today to visit the 2017 Sussex Mineral & Lapidary Society Show (SMLS) at Haywards Heath. This was the first time we have been to the show since 2010; e-Rocker Trevor Devon also Treasurer of the SMLS suggested we...
Blog entryHaving worked with Madagascan minerals over a number of years, grandidierite has always been a interesting and hard to get hold of mineral. The story went that there were a few localities close to each other in the south of Madagascar near Fort Dauphin;...
Blog entryThe Hampshire Mineral & Fossil show is on Saturday 3rd September this being the first anniversary of the current e-Rocks site launch! I am sure we will conjure up something to mark the event... ....meanwhile the mineral show is at its usual venue in...
Blog entryWhilst sorting through some Tsumeb minerals recently we came across this label, with the dealer information cut off. All we had to go on was the hand writing and a "crossed hammers" symbol on the left. With a little help and research we have traced this...
Blog entryThe Christmas Holidays are nearly upon us and it is time to launch "Mark & Christian's Christmas Cracker 2015". This is the 9th annual cracker auction and this year Christian Rewitzer and I have filled it with some diverse and interesting minerals....
Blog entryYou may have noticed today's home page centre has changed; usually we display "today's auctions closing", but today we are showing "all auctions". There is a simple reason for this. Because of demand from our sellers, we have had to increase our schedule...
Blog entryFor those of you who check out my personal timeline on Facebook you will already be aware that I keep this fed with a steady stream of mineral photographs and sometimes (not so) witty captions! I just do this for a bit of entertainment and interaction as...
Blog entryYou know you’re a rockhound when cries of “Froodite! I’ve got froodite” are heard echoing from the rafters. And before you step back in alarm, it’s not contagious… it’s the name of a mineral. Please, allow me to make introductions. My husband Reiner and...
Blog entryA bit of a surprise showed up today when going through some Madagascan specimens for auction. Packed away in thumbnail box labelled "Tourmaline Rubellite - Ambalamatsara" was this super little specimen of scheelite from Baia Sprie - Romania. These much...
Blog entryOut for a run last night and listening to the radio, in particular an excerpt about Greek mythology being discussed by Stephen Fry. Not my usual digest but it has been one of those weeks! Anyway the piece was about Dionysus the Ancient Greek god of wine...