JFD237AQ1: A curiosity: A well crystallized Quartz from the Aragonese Pyrenees and from the little known locality of Valsaroleta, with Chlorite and ferriferous Dolomite, which at the time were described as Pyrophyllite and Ankerite on the Folch label, the “Pyrophyllite” having been opportunely modified by Mr. Folch himself and with the “Ankerite” later re-described as ferriferous Dolomite. Nowadays we have much more information than was available 76 years ago when this elegant piece was found.
Balsaroleta, Sallent de Gállego, Tena Valley, Comarca Alto Gállego, Huesca, Aragon  Spain (1947)

Specimen size: 9.2 × 8.2 × 3.1 cm = 3.62” × 3.23” × 1.22”

Main crystal size: 3.1 × 1 cm = 1.22” × 0.39”

JFD239AQ1: Around the year 2015, these curious barytes unexpectedly began to be found in the Haití Mine, with large crystals and a color difficult to describe, between yellow and blue, and with inclusions of this mine's unavoidable manganese oxides.
This specimen was found by the well-known field collector 'Retamero', a well known name in this district.
Haití Mine, Cabezo de San Ginés, San Ginés de la Jara, Cartagena, Comarca Campo de Cartagena, Region of Murcia (Murcia)  Spain (2015)

Specimen size: 9.6 × 5.6 × 1.8 cm = 3.78” × 2.20” × 0.71”

JFD240AQ1: Before the two great Reguerín pockets (Reguerín and Reguerín II) were discovered, there had already been finds of very transparent light blue Fluorite in the area of the La Viesca Mine, just like this specimen, which has a good crystal size too.
It brings back many memories of that glorious time when hundreds or even thousands of Fluorite specimens appeared continuously. Nothing like the current situation.
La Viesca area, La Collada mining area, Huergo, Siero, Comarca Oviedo, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (1991)

Specimen size: 7.5 × 5.6 × 4.2 cm = 2.95” × 2.20” × 1.65”

Main crystal size: 2.5 × 2.5 cm = 0.98” × 0.98”

JFD241AQ1: A good example of what the Reguerín I pocket yielded. I liked its architecture, and that the Fluorite was mounted on Quartz with its characteristic perimorphs of Calcite, which have growth phantoms too and, in general, has more “life” than most other pieces from this pocket, whose specimens generally had larger cubes, but whose overall look was more “dull” than the appearance of this piece, which I always found to be very cheerful.
La Viesca Mine, Reguerín pocket, La Collada mining area, Huergo, Siero, Comarca Oviedo, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (04/1994)

Specimen size: 10.2 × 8 × 5.4 cm = 4.02” × 3.15” × 2.13”

Main crystal size: 2.1 × 1.8 cm = 0.83” × 0.71”

JFD233AQ0: Although it may not look like it in the photo, this is an overwhelming piece, for the size of the crystals, for their sharpness and perfection and, above all, for the numerous oriented inclusions of natural hydrocarbons inside the large crystals of Fluorite. We are used to seeing this type of inclusion inside Berbes quartzes, but much less in their fluorites. The piece is a floater and, in my opinion, spectacular.
Cuetu L'Aspa, Berbes mining area, Berbes, Ribadesella, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (±1980)

Specimen size: 12.4 × 8 × 5.4 cm = 4.88” × 3.15” × 2.13”

Main crystal size: 5.7 × 4 cm = 2.24” × 1.57”

JFD232AQ0: This one has a story as interesting as the piece itself. When I bought the Daunis collection, there were two or three pieces there that had every appearance of being from the Llamas Quarry, but since there weren't many references to specimens from that locality during its period of active exploitation, I had to consult with José Ramón García and he accredited what interests me most about this specimen: that it was a clear example of what came out of the Llamas Quarry when it was still being worked
Llamas Quarry, Obdulia vein, Caravia mining area, Las Cabañas, Duyos, Caravia, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (1970-1973)

Specimen size: 3.9 × 3.3 × 2.8 cm = 1.54” × 1.30” × 1.10”

JFD228AP9: Eugui dolomites are always exciting. I chose this one for its transparency and for that 'clean' appearance that the dolomites from the area of “el pozo” have; thanks to the good disposition of engineer Juan Córdoba.
The crystal has a weird growth on one side, but it is a floater and whole everywhere.
Asturreta Quarry, 'el pozo', Eugui, Esteríbar, Comarca Auñamendi, Chartered Community of Navarre (Navarre)  Spain (±1970)

Specimen size: 8 × 6.9 × 4.3 cm = 3.15” × 2.72” × 1.69”

JFD227AP9: Of the great finds made in the 1980s in A Franqueira, I kept this piece of Beryl (emerald variety) for its color, with a lighter tone than what is usual there, also for its certain translucency and, obviously, for the fact that it was in its Phlogopite matrix.
Emerald Deposit, A Franqueira, A Cañiza, Comarca Paradanta, Pontevedra, Galicia / Galiza  Spain (±1982)

Specimen size: 5.4 × 4.2 × 2.6 cm = 2.13” × 1.65” × 1.02”

Main crystal size: 1.8 × 0.9 cm = 0.71” × 0.35”

JFD224AP8: Lots of history in this piece. It came from the Folch collection (duplicates) labeled as “Ankerite”, a name commonly ascribed in the past to more or less iron-bearing dolomites, since it was difficult then to analyze them adequately. At one time I sold it to Francesco S. Stoppani and it resided in his collection until Francesco decided to sell it, and on repurchasing it I decided to repatriate it because I had always liked it a lot and it had seemed quite unique to me. Its only drawback is that we cannot know with certainty in which mine it was found, because Folch just labeled it “La Unión”, and the experts in that mining district who have seen the specimen cannot say for sure exactly which mine it came from.
Typical classic piece, with a lot of history behind it and prettier than usual.
La Unión, Comarca Campo de Cartagena, Region of Murcia (Murcia)  Spain

Specimen size: 11.8 × 9.2 × 4.8 cm = 4.65” × 3.62” × 1.89”

Main crystal size: 2.7 × 1.4 cm = 1.06” × 0.55”

JFD223AP8: This Smithsonite (analyzed) comes from the prolific San Valentín deposit. It is richer in crystals than usual and has a greenish hue unlike other smithsonites from there, which usually have brown tones. The fact that it is an old piece, from the French engineer Maurice Boudon, could be the reason for these differences from the more modern smithsonites. All this, and the pedigree of having belonged to Boudon, helped me at that time to decide to keep it.
San Valentín open pit, Sancti Espíritu, Sierra Minera de Cartagena-La Unión, La Unión, Comarca Campo de Cartagena, Region of Murcia (Murcia)  Spain (1982-1984)

Specimen size: 9.4 × 9.2 × 4.4 cm = 3.70” × 3.62” × 1.73”

JFD222AP8: Of the finds from the 80s, made thanks to artisanal mining on the A Franqueira pegmatite, I kept these two robust crystals of Beryl (variety emerald), and I did so both for their size and for the peculiarity of the Phlogopite intrusion into the thick Beryl crystals. As the crystals are doubly terminated, we can easily see that the Phlogopite does not just 'coat' the Beryl crystals, but was formed simultaneously with them during the last growth phase.
It seemed to me an interesting combination of spectacularity and geological interest and that is why I have kept it for so many years.
Emerald Deposit, A Franqueira, A Cañiza, Comarca Paradanta, Pontevedra, Galicia / Galiza  Spain (1982)

Specimen size: 5.2 × 4.6 × 4.4 cm = 2.05” × 1.81” × 1.73”

Main crystal size: 4.4 × 3.8 cm = 1.73” × 1.50”

JFD217AP7: 'Something different' is what drives us.
The yellow barytes are “something quite different” from a mine as well known as the Moscona Mine. The Calcite and the Fluorite add the signature touches, but that yellow Baryte is what makes the difference.
Moscona Mine, El Llano, Solís, Corvera de Asturias, Comarca Avilés, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (1998)

Specimen size: 5.8 × 4.8 × 4.8 cm = 2.28” × 1.89” × 1.89”

Main crystal size: 1.1 × 0.8 cm = 0.43” × 0.31”

JFD213AP6: The Jaimina Mine was not always a mine. It began as a quarry and from those initial years comes this piece that Jaime Chacón found in 1978 on the working face, as witnessed by his handwritten label. The piece is slightly different from the mine ones, with a more intense color and a hexahedral pattern on the faces that is richer than usual in the Jaimina Mine specimens, strongly reminiscent of its predecessors, the San Lino Mine fluorites, albeit with better quality. A historical piece, precursor of what later became the splendor of the Emilio-Jaimina mining system.
Jaimina Quarry, Obdulia vein, Caravia mining area, Trechorio, Carrales, Caravia, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (1978)

Specimen size: 10.2 × 8.5 × 6.2 cm = 4.02” × 3.35” × 2.44”

Main crystal size: 3.2 × 2.7 cm = 1.26” × 1.06”

JFD212AP6: Anglesites pseudomorphed by Cerussite and covered with Goethite are a Spanish classic from the San Valentín Quarry, but this particular piece is different, both for not being covered with Goethite and for its intense yellow color and the dissolution figures in some crystals.
Curiously I bought it in France. It was from Alain Martaud's collection (with a label) and he must have bought it from Maurice Boudon, a French engineer who worked at La Unión.
San Valentín open pit, Sancti Espíritu, Sierra Minera de Cartagena-La Unión, La Unión, Comarca Campo de Cartagena, Region of Murcia (Murcia)  Spain

Specimen size: 5.6 × 3.8 × 1.6 cm = 2.20” × 1.50” × 0.63”

Main crystal size: 1 × 0.7 cm = 0.39” × 0.28”

JFD206AP5: In October 1984, Carlos Artidiello, together with Concha and Lelo, found one of the best pockets in Berbes and I was lucky enough to pass by by chance, precisely when it had been half emptied but not yet sold. Instead, I had the misfortune of not being richer and consequently was not able to buy the entire pocket...
Of what I kept from that vug, this floater is a very good example because, with the associated Baryte and its perfect state of preservation, it represents the splendor of that find very well.
La Cabaña, Berbes mining area, Valdelmar, Berbes, Ribadesella, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (10/1984)

Specimen size: 9.5 × 9.1 × 4.2 cm = 3.74” × 3.58” × 1.65”

Main crystal size: 3.4 × 2.5 cm = 1.34” × 0.98”

JFD205AP5: Very unusual for San Lino because of its color, much more intense than usual there. Of course, the faces of the hexoctahedron are very characteristic, and even more so considering that when I got this piece, the Emilio and Jaimina mines had not even started working yet.
San Lino Quarry, Aurora vein, Caravia mining area, Cerracín, Prado, Caravia, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (±1979)

Specimen size: 7.9 × 6.4 ×.3.6 cm = 3.11” × 2.52” × 0.12”

Main crystal size: 2.5 × 2.1 cm = 0.98” × 0.83”

JFD204AP5: After many years already in my collection, nothing seems to have altered this Pyrite from Ambas Aguas, which perfectly preserves its luster and its good state of conservation, both the main crystal and the “little child” that it carries in its upper part.
Ambas Aguas (Ambasaguas), Muro de Aguas, Comarca Arnedo, La Rioja  Spain (1991)

Specimen size: 5.5 × 3.2 × 2.2 cm = 2.17” × 1.26” × 0.87”

Main crystal size: 4 × 2.9 cm = 1.57” × 1.14”

JFD203AP5: Crystals from this mine are rarely so individualized and rarely are they on such a white matrix. That's why I kept it.
Troya Mine, Mutiloa, Comarca Goyerri, Guipúzcoa / Gipuzkoa, Basque Country (Euskadi)  Spain (±1984)

Specimen size: 4.9 × 4.7 × 3.3 cm = 1.93” × 1.85” × 1.30”

Main crystal size: 1.1 × 0.7 cm = 0.43” × 0.28”

JFD202AP5: Superb color and luster. I always really liked the good prehnites from Carchelejo, that's why I have quite a few in the collection; when I saw a particularly good one I always kept it. The good years of that mine were a splendid time.
Oficarsa Quarry, De las Culebras Hill, Carchelejo, Cárcheles, Comarca Sierra Mágina, Jaén, Andalusia  Spain (2004)

Specimen size: 6.1 × 3.3 × 1.5 cm = 2.40” × 1.30” × 0.59”

JFD199AP4: Quartz veins crop out on the surface of the ground in the Alkiza area, and although they do not usually have large crystals, they can be clean and lustrous. Among the ones I have seen, I chose this one because of the quality of the crystals, very transparent, and because the crystals are a little more separated from each other than is usual there.
Outcrops of Quartz veins from Alkiza, Anoeta-Alkiza road, Alkiza, Comarca Tolosaldea, Guipúzcoa / Gipuzkoa, Basque Country (Euskadi)  Spain (1992)

Specimen size: 8.2 × 6.6 × 4.8 cm = 3.23” × 2.60” × 1.89”

Main crystal size: 3.9 × 0.6 cm = 1.54” × 0.24”

JFD198AP4: With its rich parageneses, the Carlés Mine was, during its active years, yielding a great variety of mineral species, with a predominance of piroxenes. This piece is such a specimen, with Ferro-actinolite in brilliant crystals, the 'uralite' pseudomorphing pyroxenes and a Plagioclase Feldspar which, together with massive Pyrite, completes the combo.
Carlés-Norte cut, Carlés Mine, Ballotal-El Fuxaco, Carlés, Salas, Comarca Valle del Narcea, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (19/01/1990)

Specimen size: 6.5 × 4.9 × 4.1 cm = 2.56” × 1.93” × 1.61”

Main crystal size: 0.3 × 0.1 cm = 0.12” × 0.04”

JFD197AP4: Calcite variety is not lacking in the Moscona Mine. Among so many, there is always one that for one reason or another attracts more attention. Such is the case with this piece, in which the darker-colored growth figures seem to want to show the trigonal symmetry that characterizes the species. Unusual and curious.
Moscona Mine, El Llano, Solís, Corvera de Asturias, Comarca Avilés, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (09/2013)

Specimen size: 7.3 × 5.4 × 4.4 cm = 2.87” × 2.13” × 1.73”

Main crystal size: 5.5 × 4.4 cm = 2.17” × 1.73”

JFD188AP3: Different from the classic 'tin twins' so typical there, and also with a little more luster than usual. I bought it from a collector in Madrid and I liked it for that difference from what is usually seen in that mine.
Penouta Mines, Penouta (San Bartolomé), Viana do Bolo, Comarca Viana, Orense / Ourense, Galicia / Galiza  Spain

Specimen size: 5 × 3.3 × 2.9 cm = 1.97” × 1.30” × 1.14”

Main crystal size: 2.2 × 1.4 cm = 0.87” × 0.55”

JFD187AP3: From Montjuïc hill in the city of Barcelona itself, these microcrystalline quartzes are a Catalan classic and although I said I would not part with any Catalan pieces for sentimental reasons, I had two of these so much alike that as an exception I'll keep one and release the other. I liked both of them because they have an intense color and the growth bands are more “pictorial” than what is usual from there.
Montjuïc, Barcelona city, Comarca Barcelonès, Barcelona, Catalonia / Catalunya  Spain (±1981)

Specimen size: 6.6 × 4.8 × 4.4 cm = 2.60” × 1.89” × 1.73”

JFD184AP2: From much quantity can come quality. Of all the thousands of pieces that we have all seen these years from the Moscona mine, some stand out. This one, due to the color and the edges of the cubes of Fluorite bordered by transparent Baryte crystals, is a joy.
It was in a very special collection, its previous owner knew what he was doing.
Moscona Mine, El Llano, Solís, Corvera de Asturias, Comarca Avilés, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (1990-2000)

Specimen size: 13.8 × 11.1 × 4.6 cm = 5.43” × 4.37” × 1.81”

Main crystal size: 2.5 × 2.5 cm = 0.98” × 0.98”

JFD183AP2: The blue barytes from the Moscona mine are so appreciated... above all in the past when the mine had not yet yielded so much material, and, why not say it, because of the transparency and color of those early blue barytes, which were, in my opinion, better than most that came out later. Pretty and elegant was what I expected back then to get with a blue baryte from Moscona and this one served me well.
Moscona Mine, El Llano, Solís, Corvera de Asturias, Comarca Avilés, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (1989)

Specimen size: 4.4 × 3.6 × 3.3 cm = 1.73” × 1.42” × 1.30”

Main crystal size: 1.9 × 1.6 cm = 0.75” × 0.63”

JFD182AP2: The great classics are always great classics!
Even though it is not a top piece, more than anything because of the size of the crystal, it is a Dolomite from 'el pozo' in matrix, undamaged, twinned and has that special 'light', that transparency and luster of the best dolomites from Eugui, those of 'el pozo'
Asturreta Quarry, 'el pozo', Eugui, Esteríbar, Comarca Auñamendi, Chartered Community of Navarre (Navarre)  Spain (±1972)

Specimen size: 6.4 × 4.2 × 4.4 cm = 2.52” × 1.65” × 1.73”

Main crystal size: 3.4 × 3.3 cm = 1.34” × 1.30”

JFD180AP1: One hell of a piece (for this deposit anyway). Chalcopyrite is not exactly the most famous species from the Troya mine, but this specimen, found in the first years of exploitation, shows good sharp crystals, displaying a nice contrast with the Dolomite and the Siderite that are typical there.
Of the best possible quality for this locality.
Troya Mine, Mutiloa, Comarca Goyerri, Guipúzcoa / Gipuzkoa, Basque Country (Euskadi)  Spain (±1983)

Specimen size: 12.3 × 8.9 × 3.4 cm = 4.84” × 3.50” × 1.34”

Main crystal size: 1.6 × 1.2 cm = 0.63” × 0.47”

JFD179AP1: Sorbas has been declared a protected natural area, but I collected this piece 13 years before that, in 1976. I still remember the beauty of the place and the ease with which it was possible to get specimens like this, with reddish Gypsum crystals colored by the red clays so characteristic of that place.
Yesos de Sorbas Karst, Los Yesares, Sorbas, Comarca Levante Almeriense, Almería, Andalusia  Spain (08/1976)

Specimen size: 8.6 × 5.6 × 4.9 cm = 3.39” × 2.20” × 1.93”

Main crystal size: 2.8 × 1.8 cm = 1.10” × 0.71”

JFD178AP1: The difference between pieces from the Emilio Mine and the Jaimina Mine is very subtle. But we can tell that this piece came from the Emilio because when I bought it, Jaimina hadn't started working yet, but if it weren't for that, and for the general 'clarity' of the piece, doubt could remain, especially because of those hexaoctahedral Fluorite cubes.
Emilio Mine, Obdulia vein, Caravia mining area, La Rubiera, Loroñe, Colunga, Comarca de la Sidra, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (2006)

Specimen size: 5.7 × 5.3 × 3.4 cm = 2.24” × 2.09” × 1.34”

Main crystal size: 3 × 1.8 cm = 1.18” × 0.71”

JFD61AN9: A great curiosity: small crystals of Fluorite, with an intense color, very transparent, on a Quartz matrix ... all quite different from what is usually found in the Minas de Villabona area, although this type of scoriaceous Pyrite is characteristic of the deposit.
The piece was in the collection of A. Mayor, from Madrid, and is very old. As I have already noticed with some other piece, what appeared there many years ago was quite different from what we see today.
Villabona Mines, Barrio de la Estación, Villabona, Llanera, Comarca del Nora, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (±1979)

Specimen size: 11.3 × 10.4 × 7.7 cm = 4.45” × 4.09” × 3.03”

Main crystal size: 0.8 × 0.8 cm = 0.31” × 0.31”

JFD177AP1: Many years ago, when specimens from the quarries of the Sierra Norte de Madrid began to be seen (almost always referred to under the generic name of 'Los Gallegos') this quality of specimen still attracted attention. Later, those quarries experienced a splendor that we could hardly imagine, and so this piece now remains as a historical relic of the early days.
Miraculously, I was able to find out that it came specifically from the Navazales II Quarry, rather than having only the generic area name of 'Los Gallegos'
Navazales II Quarries, La Cabrera pluton, Valdemanco - Bustarviejo - Cabanillas de la Sierra - Navalafuente, Comarca Sierra Norte, Community of Madrid  Spain (1998)

Specimen size: 7.4 × 4.2 × 3 cm = 2.91” × 1.65” × 1.18”

Main crystal size: 2 × 0.3 cm = 0.79” × 0.12”

JFD174AP0: A friend who saw it called it 'a tower of the Sagrada Familia' cathedral. How capricious are these goethites from La Lapilla!
La Lapilla Mine, La Lapilla, Alosno, Comarca El Andévalo, Huelva, Andalusia  Spain (03-04/2008)

Specimen size: 14.4 × 4.2 × 4 cm = 5.67” × 1.65” × 1.57”

JFD173AP0: This very fine Quartz from the mythical La Gitana mine has a curious history, because it came to my collection very recently. I did not have any pieces of it but with the sale of part of the collection of Santiago Jiménez I became very happy with this one although, as sometimes happens, another better one had been forgotten, and several months after the 'coming out' of that collection I was able to acquire another Quartz from the same mine, and so in the end I am letting this one go.
Santa María Mine, Cueva La Gitana, Las Carreras, Abanto y Ciérvana/Abanto Zierbena, Comarca Gran Bilbao, Vizcaya / Bizkaia, Basque Country (Euskadi)  Spain

Specimen size: 5.3 × 4 × 3.9 cm = 2.09” × 1.57” × 1.54”

Main crystal size: 3.2 × 2.8 cm = 1.26” × 1.10”

JFD172AP0: It may seem silly, but jarosites from Spain are among the best in the world not because of the size of the crystals but because of their quality and transparency. Also, even though the ones from Arteal are not from the type locality, which is Barranco Jaroso, both localities are in the Sierra Almagrera and not far from each other.
Socavón Santa Bárbara (El Arteal Tunnel), Almagrera Range, Cuevas del Almanzora, Comarca Levante Almeriense, Almería, Andalusia  Spain (2006)

Specimen size: 7.2 × 6 × 3.5 cm = 2.83” × 2.36” × 1.38”

Main crystal size: 0.4 × 0.3 cm = 0.16” × 0.12”

JFD170AO9: An Aragonese classic that is also 'in the chest' of the Catalans and Valencians because the locality is very close to Tarragona and Castellón. The calcites from there are very nice, though they are not always so transparent. It was found by Joan Carles Mérida, well known Catalan field collector, specializing in the areas of Massabé and Sils.
La Cañada de Verich, Comarca del Bajo Aragón, Teruel, Aragon  Spain (10/2011)

Specimen size: 5.3 × 4 × 3.1 cm = 2.09” × 1.57” × 1.22”

Main crystal size: 2.1 × 0.9 cm = 0.83” × 0.35”

JFD169AO9: So many different habits and so many tonalities… the indefatigable El Horcajo mines, always with high quality specimens.
This specimen had a curious history: the greatly missed Marçal Lloria obtained it when he bought the collection of Josefina Pons from Barcelona, to whom I had sold the piece in the remote past. Marçal put that collection up for sale at the Expominer 2003 Show and as soon as I saw the piece I arranged for it to come back home to papa (ie. me)
El Horcajo Mines, El Horcajo, Almodóvar del Campo, Comarca Campo de Calatrava, Ciudad Real, Castilla-La Mancha  Spain (±1910)

Specimen size: 3.8 × 2.8 × 1.9 cm = 1.50” × 1.10” × 0.75”

Main crystal size: 1.2 × 0.5 cm = 0.47” × 0.20”

JFD168AO9: Without the fame of its neighbor, the Troya Mine, in its heyday the Aizpea concession in Zerain yielded excellent specimens like this Baryte, very well formed and transparent and with small Galena crystals on one side and also included in one of the Baryte crystals. Spanish classic from a not well known locality.
Aizpea claim, Cerain mines, Zerain, Comarca Goyerri, Guipúzcoa / Gipuzkoa, Basque Country (Euskadi)  Spain

Specimen size: 5.1 × 3.6 × 2.4 cm = 2.01” × 1.42” × 0.94”

Main crystal size: 4.3 × 2.2 cm = 1.69” × 0.87”

JFD167AO9: An absolute rarity. From the well-known Dolores Mine in the Los Pedroches Valley, this nice exception piece. The type of minerals found in that mine, with a preponderance of native Bismuth, are not famous for their beauty, but this cobalt-bearing Adamite stands out for its intense color and its good crystallization. Small crystals, yes, but very showy. As a curiosity, the engineer J.A. Carbonell Molina, who found it around 1963, classified it as 'Roselite'. Recent analyses prove that it is actually Adamite.
Dolores Mine, Dolores Mining Group, Las Lomas, Pozoblanco, Comarca Los Pedroches, Córdoba, Andalusia  Spain (±1963)

Specimen size: 2.3 × 2.1 × 1.4 cm = 0.91” × 0.83” × 0.55”

Main crystal size: 0.1 × 0.1 cm = 0.04” × 0.04”

JFD160AO8: Both species here were analyzed, and confirmed to be Smithsonite and Chalcophanite. It comes from Francesco Stoppani's extensive collection of European carbonates, and I kept it because I found the association to be interesting as it is not that common in that area.
Los Blancos Quarry, Llano del Beal, Cartagena, Comarca Campo de Cartagena, Region of Murcia (Murcia)  Spain (±2010)

Specimen size: 9.4 × 7.3 × 4.1 cm = 3.70” × 2.87” × 1.61”

Main crystal size: 1 × 0.8 cm = 0.39” × 0.31”

JFD159AO8: From a prolific mine for Calcite, I kept this one because it is more transparent than what is usually seen from there.
Herculano Mine, El Puntal, Campos de Golf, Atamaría, Cartagena, Comarca Campo de Cartagena, Region of Murcia (Murcia)  Spain (2010)

Specimen size: 10.8 × 5 × 3.7 cm = 4.25” × 1.97” × 1.46”

Main crystal size: 1 × 1 cm = 0.39” × 0.39”

JFD158AO8: Beautiful miniature, with the Fluorite cubes being larger than usual for this mine, and also of a deeper color. The associated Calcite and Baryte adorn the piece well.
Moscona Mine, El Llano, Solís, Corvera de Asturias, Comarca Avilés, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (2001)

Specimen size: 3.7 × 3.3 × 3.3 cm = 1.46” × 1.30” × 1.30”

Main crystal size: 1.6 × 1 cm = 0.63” × 0.39”

JFD157AO8: The crystallography of Berbes fluorites is not as rich as that of other neighboring mines such as San Lino, Jaimina, or Emilio, but sometimes even in Berbes there are unusual morphologies, very similar to those other mines, as can be seen in the enlarged photo of this beautiful specimen. Small, but interesting.
Berbes mining area, Berbes, Ribadesella, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (1982)

Specimen size: 2.5 × 2.2 × 2 cm = 0.98” × 0.87” × 0.79”

Main crystal size: 1.1 × 1 cm = 0.43” × 0.39”

JFD152AO7: From the La Sirena cut, right next to the Josefa-Veneros vein, but their fluorites are so different. Usually those from La Sirena are quite cloudy and not very lustrous, but this one, surely because it was one of the first to be found, has good quality, to the point that if it were not for its characteristic 'bottle green' tone and its characteristic matrix, one might think that it came from somewhere else.
La Sirena cut, La Collada mining area, La Collada, Siero, Comarca Oviedo, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (1991)

Specimen size: 10.4 × 7.4 × 5.1 cm = 4.09” × 2.91” × 2.01”

Main crystal size: 2.7 × 2.5 cm = 1.06” × 0.98”

JFD151AO7: Very fine and very aerial, with its Chalcopyrite crystal and matrix Quartz. It has a growth defect at the base (left) but it is not a break, since if it were, it would have cleaved into octahedrons.
I always liked this piece...
La Viesca Mine, La Collada mining area, Huergo, Siero, Comarca Oviedo, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (1995)

Specimen size: 6.7 × 4.6 × 2.7 cm = 2.64” × 1.81” × 1.06”

Main crystal size: 1.7 × 1.5 cm = 0.67” × 0.59”

JFD150AO7: From the glorious era in which, in the 'el pozo' area, Engineer Córdoba ordered the saving of exceptional specimens. I was only 18 years old at the time and this was one of the dolomites I got. There were much better ones but, having just started in the world of mineral collecting at that time, I don't complain about my luck.
Asturreta Quarry, 'el pozo', Eugui, Esteríbar, Comarca Auñamendi, Chartered Community of Navarre (Navarre)  Spain (±1974)

Specimen size: 5.4 × 4.4 × 3.2 cm = 2.13” × 1.73” × 1.26”

Main crystal size: 2.5 × 2.4 cm = 0.98” × 0.94”

JFD149AO7: Lluís Daunis again, this time with a holy relic: this Galena with Baryte and Quartz from the Santa Bárbara Mine (better know as 'La Perdiguera') which has much more brightness and quality than is usually known from there.
Santa Bárbara Mine, De Pichita Hill, La Perdiguera, Madridejos, Comarca La Mancha, Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha  Spain

Specimen size: 8.6 × 6.8 × 5.3 cm = 3.39” × 2.68” × 2.09”

Main crystal size: 3.4 × 2.7 cm = 1.34” × 1.06”

JFD148AO7: Why did I choose this Berbes Quartz? It is beautiful, yes, and it has inclusions and some of them are mobile, but although it seems silly, I kept it because it was associated with small fragments of Baryte, which, curiously, is unusual with Berbes Quartz.
Berbes mining area, Berbes, Ribadesella, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (2002)

Specimen size: 7.6 × 4.4 × 3.9 cm = 2.99” × 1.73” × 1.54”

JFD147AO7: Like a Quartz Santa Claus, the top crystal acts as a cap for a motley array of crystals. As so often with specimens found by Lluís Daunis, the locality is semi-unknown in the world of mineral collecting.
Aliaguilla, Comarca Serranía Baja, Cuenca, Castilla-La Mancha  Spain

Specimen size: 5.1 × 4 × 3.2 cm = 2.01” × 1.57” × 1.26”

Main crystal size: 1.5 × 1.2 cm = 0.59” × 0.47”

JFD139AO6: Fluorite with two large groups of Pyrite crystals (similar to those of Minas de Villabona) on one side and very bright Pyrite coating the back.
The Fluorite is 'Moscona type' and the Pyrite is 'Minas de Villabona type', a curious combination.
I bought it from Ramón ‘Chispa’, who was an “institution” from whom one could get good specimens back in the 1990s.
Moscona Mine, El Llano, Solís, Corvera de Asturias, Comarca Avilés, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (1992)

Specimen size: 9.8 × 8.6 × 7 cm = 3.86” × 3.39” × 2.76”

Main crystal size: 2.7 × 2.3 cm = 1.06” × 0.91”

JFD138AO6: Curious things come out of every great vug, like this Prehnite that has three Quartz crystals protruding from it and that at the same time are covered with Prehnite. But the best thing about the piece (for me) is that it was found by James Catmur, with whom I exchanged it in 1993.
Isabel Quarry (La Saludadora Quarry), La Cabrera pluton, Valdemanco, Comarca Sierra de Guadarrama, Community of Madrid  Spain (10/1992)

Specimen size: 6.2 × 3.7 × 2.4 cm = 2.44” × 1.46” × 0.94”

JFD137AO6: From 1986, making it one of the first blue barytes that began to come out of the Moscona mine. It has a different look from the ones that came out later, appearing more 'clean' due to its color and transparency. It is a doubly terminated floater crystal with some Fluorite at the base.
Moscona Mine, El Llano, Solís, Corvera de Asturias, Comarca Avilés, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (1986)

Specimen size: 4.4 × 3.5 × 1.5 cm = 1.73” × 1.38” × 0.59”

JFD136AO6: One of the unexpected Spanish golds from the Sierra de la Chimenea area, this one in particular showing better presentation and definition than others. It has many empty molds of what must have been Quartz crystals, but which later geological processes have made disappear.
De la Chimenea Mountains, Talarrubias / Casas de Don Pedro area, Comarca La Siberia, Badajoz, Extremadura  Spain (2002-2008)

Specimen size: 1.2 × 0.9 × 0.3 cm = 0.47” × 0.35” × 0.12”

JFD130AO5: Bought from a well-known collector in Murcia in 1994, I was right to buy it since the Victoria Mine, although prolific, does not usually produce specimens as fine as this one, very clean and with a lot of definition to the crystals, not very large, but more individualized than on other pieces from that mine. The color, as is often the case with Victoria's barytes, is excellent.
Victoria Mine, Cabezo de San Ginés, El Estrecho de San Ginés, Cartagena, Comarca Campo de Cartagena, Region of Murcia (Murcia)  Spain (04/1994)

Specimen size: 11.2 × 6.6 × 5.8 cm = 4.41” × 2.60” × 2.28”

Main crystal size: 0.5 × 0.4 cm = 0.20” × 0.16”

JFD129AO5: What to say about specimens from the El Horcajo mining district that has not already been said? Always attractive, always special, with that color and that fibrous structure. A delight.
This one in particular was photographed by the much-missed Bocamina magazine and appears on page 64 of Volume 13, published in April 2004.
El Horcajo Mines, El Horcajo, Almodóvar del Campo, Comarca Campo de Calatrava, Ciudad Real, Castilla-La Mancha  Spain (±1914)

Specimen size: 3 × 2.3 × 1.8 cm = 1.18” × 0.91” × 0.71”

Main crystal size: 0.4 × 0.4 cm = 0.16” × 0.16”

JFD128AO5: From the first years of exploitation of the Emilio Mine, which amazed us all for the clarity of its Fluorite crystals and for having some other good quality species associated with it, as in this case Chalcopyrite, very lustrous and shiny.
Emilio Mine, Obdulia vein, Caravia mining area, La Rubiera, Loroñe, Colunga, Comarca de la Sidra, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (2005)

Specimen size: 4.2 × 2.7 × 2.2 cm = 1.65” × 1.06” × 0.87”

Main crystal size: 1 × 1 cm = 0.39” × 0.39”

JFD127AO5: Specimens from the Josefa-Veneros vein always have that special air, even the smallest ones. So different...
Josefa-Veneros vein, 75 level, Coroña de Arriba-La Collada, La Collada mining area, Siero, Comarca Oviedo, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (±1974)

Specimen size: 3.7 × 2.7 × 1.5 cm = 1.46” × 1.06” × 0.59”

Main crystal size: 0.3 × 0.3 cm = 0.12” × 0.12”

JFD126AO5: Not all the pieces in a collection have to be 'top'. There are pieces like this, that without being anything special, you like them. Because of their shape, or because it was one of the very first ones found, or whatever. A collection can have anything, it is enough that we like it! 😉
Oficarsa Quarry, De las Culebras Hill, Carchelejo, Cárcheles, Comarca Sierra Mágina, Jaén, Andalusia  Spain (2000)

Specimen size: 2.8 × 2.6 × 1.7 cm = 1.10” × 1.02” × 0.67”

JFD120AO4: One of the characteristics of the first pieces found in the Llamas quarry was their elongated shape, like a matchbox, and although pieces with that habit have continued to appear later, they were much more abundant in the early days. This piece, which was found in 2012 in a pocket called 'De la Culebra' (“of the snake” - One can easily guess why), shows that characteristic elongated habit, as well as the absolute transparency that has made this site famous.
Llamas Quarry, Obdulia vein, Caravia mining area, Las Cabañas, Duyos, Caravia, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (01/2010)

Specimen size: 6.7 × 5.9 × 3.9 cm = 2.64” × 2.32” × 1.54”

Main crystal size: 1.6 × 0.6 cm = 0.63” × 0.24”

JFD119AO4: A curiosity very different from other Berbes pieces. The cube is a floater, has good color and prominent growth zoning. On the back, the inner zoned cube is very clear and around it grows a network of dissolution figures that give it an atypical appearance. It was sold to me simply as 'Berbes' and thus we don't know where exactly in that mining district this rarity came from.
Berbes mining area, Berbes, Ribadesella, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (1995)

Specimen size: 3.5 × 3.5 × 2.7 cm = 1.38” × 1.38” × 1.06”

JFD118AO4: This Baryte is the proof that it can be a ticklish matter to ensure that this or that piece is from this or that locality. This appears to not be from the Emilio mine, neither for its habit nor for its size and definition. Fortunately, the Dolomite that accompanies it does resemble those from the Emilio mine and, furthermore, I am certain that it is from there because I bought it from the legendary Portuguese shovel operator Cándido, who was the one who had the best pieces in the initial years of exploitation of that mine.
Emilio Mine, Obdulia vein, Caravia mining area, La Rubiera, Loroñe, Colunga, Comarca de la Sidra, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (2002)

Specimen size: 4.9 × 2.8 × 3.4 cm = 1.93” × 1.10” × 1.34”

Main crystal size: 2.7 × 2 cm = 1.06” × 0.79”

JFD117AO4: From Manuel Mesa, this piece belonged to his father who worked in the Wolfastur company mine and had the wisdom to save this Scheelite which, although tiny, has in its favor being in a Muscovite matrix.
Penouta, Nona y Coto claims, Alto de Penouta - Vegadeo road, Bual, Concejo Boal, Comarca Eo-Navia, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain

Specimen size: 4.3 × 3.2 × 2.4 cm = 1.69” × 1.26” × 0.94”

Main crystal size: 1 × 0.9 cm = 0.39” × 0.35”

JFD116AO4: A Spanish rarity. This locality has produced some very remarkable specimens, and from the time when Carlos Pareja had set up a team to explore what could be found there, I kept this small group that has an unusual shape, both for the species and for the mine.
El Vagón Mine (Tío Seguro Mine), Lanteira, Comarca Guadix, Granada, Andalusia  Spain (±2006)

Specimen size: 1.7 × 1.4 × 1 cm = 0.67” × 0.55” × 0.39”

JFD109AO3: For its zoning and depth of color and its general appearance, this is a great Fluorite from La Viesca, which, although much older than the most recent finds this century, competes very well with the best of the recent finds.
La Viesca Mine, La Collada mining area, Huergo, Siero, Comarca Oviedo, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (±2000)

Specimen size: 9.8 × 7.3 × 5.9 cm = 3.86” × 2.87” × 2.32”

Main crystal size: 2.7 × 2.6 cm = 1.06” × 1.02”

JFD108AO3: This piece requires explanation. What might seem to be just another Fluorite from La Viesca always intrigued me because of its age and its somewhat different appearance from others in that area. I sold it at the time to Alain Martaud and, when he sold part of his collection, I got it back and, still intrigued by it, was showing it to José Ramón García, who, without hesitation, solved the enigma. For him, without a doubt, it is from the famous Aurora Mine in the same town of Caravia (currently buried under the municipal soccer field)
Aurora Mine, Aurora vein, Caravia mining area, El Cuetu, Prado, Caravia, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (±1970)

Specimen size: 4.5 × 4.2 × 3.6 cm = 1.77” × 1.65” × 1.42”

Main crystal size: 2.7 × 2.4 cm = 1.06” × 0.94”

JFD107AO3: A Basque classic. Generations of collectors there had collected, and continue to collect, these characteristic calcites that come from one specific area of a very large iron mine. Very abundant in the past, nowadays it is increasingly difficult to get good specimens from there.
Bodovalle Mine, Gallarta, Abanto y Ciérvana/Abanto Zierbena, Comarca Gran Bilbao, Vizcaya / Bizkaia, Basque Country (Euskadi)  Spain (±1966)

Specimen size: 9.8 × 7 × 3.7 cm = 3.86” × 2.76” × 1.46”

Main crystal size: 2 × 1.6 cm = 0.79” × 0.63”

JFD106AO3: A very old Pyrite from Ambas Aguas, from the 1970s-80s, which not only has an oblong appearance, quite different from what we usually see from there, but has also maintained its pristine condition all these years, both in its previous collection as in mine, and it has even kept its original luster.
Ambas Aguas (Ambasaguas), Muro de Aguas, Comarca Arnedo, La Rioja  Spain (±1970)

Specimen size: 4.8 × 4 × 3.8 cm = 1.89” × 1.57” × 1.50”

Main crystal size: 3.1 × 3 cm = 1.22” × 1.18”

JFD98AO2: From a huge vug found in 1990 by one of the most well known field collectors in Berbes, José Manuel Cuesta, owner of the Playa de Vega campsite and through whose hands thousands (sic) of pieces have passed, often destined for the guests of his campground.
The quality of the pieces from that vug was not extraordinary, but the quantity of specimens that came out was indeed extraordinary, and some of them very fine, like this one.
La Cabaña, Berbes mining area, Valdelmar, Berbes, Ribadesella, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (±1990)

Specimen size: 11.4 × 6.6 × 4.3 cm = 4.49” × 2.60” × 1.69”

Main crystal size: 1.8 × 1.7 cm = 0.71” × 0.67”

JFD97AO2: A very good example of the quality of the sphalerites from the Troya mine, with the addition that since the matrix is all Dolomite, there are no sulphide stains of any kind and that is why the matrix looks so white, despite the many years that have passed since it was found.
Troya Mine, Mutiloa, Comarca Goyerri, Guipúzcoa / Gipuzkoa, Basque Country (Euskadi)  Spain (1985)

Specimen size: 4.1 × 3.2 × 1.9 cm = 1.61” × 1.26” × 0.75”

Main crystal size: 1 × 0.8 cm = 0.39” × 0.31”

JFD96AO2: A piece that I have had for many years, from the very popular Sierra y Lomas Quarry (aka Los Serranos Quarry), with its usual Clinozoisite-Epidote (Series) crystals, its usual Quartz (in this case with inclusions), and with a not so usual Calcite crystal, very clear and shiny.
Sierra y Lomas Quarry (Los Serranos Quarry), Cabezo Negro, Albatera, Comarca Vega Baja del Segura, Alicante / Alacant, Valencian Community / Comunitat Valenciana  Spain (±1983)

Specimen size: 5.7 × 3.1 × 2.2 cm = 2.24” × 1.22” × 0.87”

Main crystal size: 1.6 × 1.5 cm = 0.63” × 0.59”

JFD90AO1: One of the myths of Berbes is that there are also light blue fluorites like those from La Viesca and this piece is one of the very few proofs of this. The characteristic leafy Baryte clearly proves its origin, as well as a small violet rim of 'Berbes color' on the edges of the crystals and small doubly terminated quartzes on the rear of the piece.
I got the piece from Martín Oliete at the Bilbao Fosminer Show in 1995, and he could only tell me that he had it for 'a long time' and that he did not know in which part of Berbes it had been found. Legend says that these blue fluorites came out in the Valdelmar area, but for this piece we are not able to be sure.
Berbes mining area, Berbes, Ribadesella, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain

Specimen size: 8.6 × 8 × 3.4 cm = 3.39” × 3.15” × 1.34”

Main crystal size: 0.7 × 0.7 cm = 0.28” × 0.28”

JFD89AO1: The Josefa-Veneros vein yielded many fluorites and although they typically exhibit large cubes with color zoning on the edges of the crystals, rough, with dodecahedral faces and predominantly violet colors, there can be notable variations within this pattern, as in this case, in which the color is much bluer than usual, as well as its high transparency that makes it different from the usual Josefa-Veneros standards but no less beautiful for that.
Josefa-Veneros vein, 75 level, Coroña de Arriba-La Collada, La Collada mining area, Siero, Comarca Oviedo, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (±1970-75)

Specimen size: 8 × 5.6 × 2.5 cm = 3.15” × 2.20” × 0.98”

Main crystal size: 1.6 × 1.5 cm = 0.63” × 0.59”

JFD88AO1: A watermark piece. Very transparent, with a small matrix of tiny quartzes that gives it less of a “floater” appearance than these Berbes quartzes usually have.
Of course, hydrocarbon inclusions are present too, but in a very minor role, so as not to take away the beauty of the piece...
La Cabaña, Berbes mining area, Valdelmar, Berbes, Ribadesella, Comarca Oriente, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (±1987)

Specimen size: 4.7 × 3.8 × 3.2 cm = 1.85” × 1.50” × 1.26”

Main crystal size: 2.3 × 1.4 cm = 0.91” × 0.55”

JFD87AO1: The color and luster are amazing. Although not on matrix, due to the transparency, intensity of color and good definition of the crystal, I have seen few of such quality. A very old piece in my collection, I bought it from the historic Andrés Puente in 1979. Andrés was the one who had the best Áliva pieces at that time.
The specimen has been photographed and published in the magazine ‘Paragénesis’, number 01/2022, page 74
Áliva Mine (Las Mánforas Mine), Áliva mining area, Camaleño, Comarca Liébana, Cantabria  Spain (1979)

Specimen size: 9.6 × 4.4 × 3.4 cm = 3.78” × 1.73” × 1.34”

Main crystal size: 5.1 × 3.8 cm = 2.01” × 1.50”

JFD85AO1: As I have commented on other occasions, a collection is a set and not only of selected pieces, but it can also have modest pieces to simply represent a locality. This very isolated Galena crystal is representative and, furthermore, its matrix is very white, which gives it a certain contrast.
Galena's mine, Vegacervera, Comarca Ribera del Torío, León, Castile and León  Spain

Specimen size: 4.2 × 4 × 3.6 cm = 1.65” × 1.57” × 1.42”

Main crystal size: 0.7 × 0.6 cm = 0.28” × 0.24”

JFD242AQ1: Panasqueira ferberites are among the standard-bearers of that mining district, but have always been difficult to acquire without flaws and with a certain “dynamism”, like this piece in which the many Ferberite crystals seem scattered in the Quartz crystals, which are very transparent and have small Muscovite rosettes at their base.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (1996)

Specimen size: 4 × 3.9 × 5.4 cm = 1.57” × 1.54” × 2.13”

Main crystal size: 1.7 × 1.2 cm = 0.67” × 0.47”

JFD243AQ1: Doubly terminated, very sharp, and without the slightest defect, this Ferberite has been for many years one of the prides of my collection. The Siderite crystals that border it, the Marcasite-Arsenopyrite and Quartz, complete its beauty.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (1994)

Specimen size: 6.7 × 4.8 × 3.4 cm = 2.64” × 1.89” × 1.34”

Main crystal size: 5.7 × 2.2 cm = 2.24” × 0.87”

JFD244AQ1: This Quartz floater crystal is very flat, doubly terminated, and with recrystallized faces, and on it grow very aerial, sharp crystals of Fluorapatite.
A typical Panasqueira piece, but without the little dings that they usually have there.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (±1995)

Specimen size: 4.8 × 4 × 1.9 cm = 1.89” × 1.57” × 0.75”

Main crystal size: 1.2 × 1.1 cm = 0.47” × 0.43”

JFD245AQ1: Nice group of Fluorapatite crystals with the center of the crystals exhibiting images of circular growth of darker color, which are locally called “olho de bou” (bull's eyes).
With Siderite and Muscovite on the matrix, both slightly coated by Chlorite.
A showy and exceptionally well preserved piece.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (±1970)

Specimen size: 7 × 5.6 × 2.8 cm = 2.76” × 2.20” × 1.10”

Main crystal size: 2.3 × 1.6 cm = 0.91” × 0.63”

JFD235AQ0: Elegant, very fine, a delight! These prolific Portuguese quarries yield many specimens of Calcite and sometimes even with large crystals, but few as graceful as this one, which must have been why Alain Martaud had appreciated it at one time.
Cruz dos Meninos Quarry, Santa Maria, Estremoz, Évora District, Alentejo Region  Portugal

Specimen size: 8.5 × 7.6 × 4.1 cm = 3.35” × 2.99” × 1.61”

Main crystal size: 1.7 × 1.4 cm = 0.67” × 0.55”

JFD234AQ0: The Panasqueira mine has produced many pyrites, but of all that multitude there have been very few octahedral ones.
This piece serves as a good example of that 'rarity'.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (1997)

Specimen size: 5 × 4 × 2 cm = 1.97” × 1.57” × 0.79”

Main crystal size: 0.7 × 0.6 cm = 0.28” × 0.24”

JFD229AP9: A very clear and perfect Quartz, with a very showy phantom, clearly displaying the different phases of crystal growth.
The Siderite, very sharp and aerial, and with small Pyrite crystals adds its signature to the piece.
Minas da Panasqueira, level 2, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (1993)

Specimen size: 5.8 × 4.7 × 5 cm = 2.28” × 1.85” × 1.97”

Main crystal size: 5.6 × 2.6 cm = 2.20” × 1.02”

JFD225AP8: Color, color, and color! The crystals are on an unusual Calcite matrix and one of them has a small chip that, fortunately, is on the back of the piece and so is inconspicuous. As said, the most remarkable thing about it is its color.
I got it back for myself when I bought the Silvane collection, to whom I had sold it before.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal

Specimen size: 3.8 × 3.4 × 3.2 cm = 1.50” × 1.34” × 1.26”

Main crystal size: 2.3 × 1.8 cm = 0.91” × 0.71”

JFD215AP6: So many fluorapatites in Panasqueira... sometimes charming, sometimes with important differences between them. This one, in addition to having a good color, is 'architectural', with many crystals of various sizes that grow capriciously. With small crystals of Siderite.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (±1991)

Specimen size: 3.9 × 2.8 × 2.9 cm = 1.54” × 1.10” × 1.14”

Main crystal size: 1.9 × 1.6 cm = 0.75” × 0.63”

JFD214AP6: Small but very nice piece. The Fluorapatite is very well positioned among the Quartz crystals and is accompanied by small, completely transparent Calcite crystals, which complete this old classic from Panasqueira.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (±1986)

Specimen size: 4.2 × 2.7 × 3.4 cm = 1.65” × 1.06” × 1.34”

Main crystal size: 1 × 1 cm = 0.39” × 0.39”

JFD207AP5: Panasqueira has been producing well-crystallized specimens of all kinds of mineral species for many decades. This great mine is distinguished not only by its fluorapatites, but its siderites too are of high quality and their crystal habits can be very varied. In addition, other well-crystallized species may be associated with them, such as Ferberite, small crystals of Pyrite and Chalcopyrite, and Calcite-Dolomite.
Minas da Panasqueira, level 3, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (02/1999)

Specimen size: 12.3 × 9.4 × 6.8 cm = 4.84” × 3.70” × 2.68”

Main crystal size: 5.3 × 5.2 cm = 2.09” × 2.05”

JFD200AP4: As those familiar with the deposit know, Panasqueira pyrites can be very good. This piece is a good example of this, with the crystal aggregate forming a very aerial pineapple on a Quartz matrix completely covered by small Calcite-Dolomite crystals and with the mold of another Quartz crystal on the back.
Everything is quite perfect, without any dings, which is not very common in Panasqueira where, due to the operating conditions, it is very difficult to prevent pieces from being damaged.
Luminous and showy, a very good Pyrite.
Minas da Panasqueira, level 2, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (1992)

Specimen size: 9.8 × 6.8 × 6.3 cm = 3.86” × 2.68” × 2.48”

JFD191AP3: It's a little love of mine, this piece. The specimen is a floater, it has no damage, everything complete, and everything, both Quartz and Pyrite and even the Muscovite, has quality. As I said, I feel a little love for it.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (±1999)

Specimen size: 9.2 × 7.3 × 2.4 cm = 3.62” × 2.87” × 0.94”

Main crystal size: 9.2 × 2.3 cm = 3.62” × 0.91”

JFD190AP3: Rare, rare, both for its color and for the presentation of the crystals. Despite having seen so many fluorapatites, the truth is that I don't remember seeing another one like this one. Besides, the little 'ball' of Chlorite is intriguing, because I honestly don't know if it is an aggregate of Chlorite crystals or if it is covering some other species.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (±1997)

Specimen size: 6.5 × 5.3 × 3.8 cm = 2.56” × 2.09” × 1.50”

Main crystal size: 3.5 × 2.4 cm = 1.38” × 0.94”

JFD189AP3: A kind of forest of very green and very transparent-translucent Fluorapatite crystals. If there were a name to define the piece, it would be: 'showy'. It comes from an important collection and is very well documented.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (±1970)

Specimen size: 5.3 × 3.5 × 3.4 cm = 2.09” × 1.38” × 1.34”

Main crystal size: 0.9 × 0.7 cm = 0.35” × 0.28”

JFD185AP2: For a long time I was looking for a piece with Topaz that was worthy of Panasqueira, and I was really happy when I got this specimen with its Fluorite, its Siderite and even its small elongated Fluorapatite crystal. Later, in more modern times, more topazes came out, but that is another story.
Minas da Panasqueira, level 2, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (1985)

Specimen size: 4.4 × 3.3 × 1.7 cm = 1.73” × 1.30” × 0.67”

JFD175AP0: Intense color change in this Fluorapatite, from a delicate green to almost blue, depending on the type of light illuminating it. Panasqueira fluorapatites are known to do this, but in this one the property is extreme.
Small, but cute.

Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (1989)

Specimen size: 2.7 × 2.6 × 2.5 cm = 1.06” × 1.02” × 0.98”

Main crystal size: 1.1 × 1 cm = 0.43” × 0.39”

JFD162AO8: Panasqueira arsenopyrites are said to be the best in the world, and we could spend hours discussing that, but this piece with its Muscovite base and the white carbonates behind it, is a great example of why one could come to that conclusion.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (1985)

Specimen size: 4.8 × 4 × 3.4 cm = 1.89” × 1.57” × 1.34”

Main crystal size: 4 × 3.7 cm = 1.57” × 1.46”

JFD161AO8: Unusual. Extra-flat Pyrite crystals growing in what appears to have been a coating of carbonates on the face of a Quartz crystal that at some point had detached, with the crystallization of the carbonates finishing far from where they started forming. As said, unusual.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (1990)

Specimen size: 4.7 × 3.3 × 0.6 cm = 1.85” × 1.30” × 0.24”

JFD155AO7: Look out! A specimen like this is rare in Panasqueira. Sphalerite is not usually found there in good specimens, but moreover, when it is, it is almost always associated with other sulphides, which yields less luminous groups. In this case, the association with Fluorapatite, well crystallized and with a fibrous appearance, and Muscovite with a good color, results in a very unusual specimen, a real curiosity for those who specialise in this mine.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (±2005)

Specimen size: 10.4 × 6.6 × 3.7 cm = 4.09” × 2.60” × 1.46”

JFD154AO7: A classic from Panasqueira: large sharp crystals of Marcasite, in 'cock's comb' habit, with some Arsenopyrite, and associated with carbonates (Calcite-Dolomite in this case) which very possibly contributes to making them more stable than those from other deposits.
Minas da Panasqueira, level 2, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (1993)

Specimen size: 10.4 × 7.1 × 5.1 cm = 4.09” × 2.80” × 2.01”

Main crystal size: 1.9 × 1.8 cm = 0.75” × 0.71”

JFD153AO7: Panasqueira pyrites are unmistakable. It is curious that such a common mineral can be assigned to one locality in such a recognizable way. Flattened cubes, rich in faces, with Calcite-Dolomite in many cases and that brass-like color, from ancient ore.
It is nice what they call the pyrites in Panasqueira when they have this type of tones or they are oxidized: 'ferruginadas'
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (1989)

Specimen size: 9.2 × 8.3 × 3.1 cm = 3.62” × 3.27” × 1.22”

Main crystal size: 0.6 × 0.4 cm = 0.24” × 0.16”

JFD142AO6: One hell of a Cassiterite! Very large for Panasqueira, very lustrous, and sitting well on Sphalerite crystals that are associated with Quartz crystals, one of them broken, but the others recrystallized, and with small Siderite crystals.
Who said that Panasqueira cassiterites did not reach world class status?
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (±1970)

Specimen size: 10.8 × 9.7 × 4.1 cm = 4.25” × 3.82” × 1.61”

Main crystal size: 3 × 2.7 cm = 1.18” × 1.06”

JFD141AO6: Although it is such a popular mineral, Galena is quite rare in Panasqueira and only very occasionally can good specimens be obtained. In this case, it also has the added bonus of well-crystallized Stannite covering Chalcopyrite in the base. A combo of unusual species at Panasqueira.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (1989)

Specimen size: 4.4 × 3.1 × 2.8 cm = 1.73” × 1.22” × 1.10”

Main crystal size: 0.6 × 0.4 cm = 0.24” × 0.16”

JFD131AO5: The Panasqueira mines have been active for many years and even in 1964 notable specimens were already coming out. Somewhat different from the current ones, but also attractive. In this case, the Arsenopyrite has a different crystal habit from the one we usually see today and an Arsenopyrite-Chalcopyrite-Cassiterite-Sphalerite association that is not normally seen today either, and yet it is still easy to recognize the Panasqueira signature.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (1964)

Specimen size: 7.7 × 5.7 × 3 cm = 3.03” × 2.24” × 1.18”

Main crystal size: 2.4 × 2 cm = 0.94” × 0.79”

JFD121AO4: One hell of a piece! Many Chalcopyrite crystals with a curious morphology, good luster and color and as a floater in which the Arsenopyrite culminates the piece in its upper part and the omnipresent Siderite covers a little of everything, but without invading the rest of the species.
Not only are apatites and ferberites world-class in Panasqueira, but sometimes other species are as well.

Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (1999)

Specimen size: 11.5 × 8.8 × 4.4 cm = 4.53” × 3.46” × 1.73”

Main crystal size: 1.9 × 1.6 cm = 0.75” × 0.63”

JFD112AO3: In the past, you had to sweat blood to get hold of one of these mythical 'lilas' apatites, always very expensive and always with defects (broken or damaged crystals). I was very happy when I got this one, and at the time I was proud to have it in my collection.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (±1995)

Specimen size: 8.3 × 6.8 × 7.2 cm = 3.27” × 2.68” × 2.83”

Main crystal size: 2.3 × 1.3 cm = 0.91” × 0.51”

JFD111AO3: Very peculiar Fluorapatite. These floater crystals, complete and well terminated throughout, have bands of lighter color that appear to be fibrous crystals included within the Fluorapatite crystals themselves.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (2009)

Specimen size: 4 × 3.3 × 2.3 cm = 1.57” × 1.30” × 0.91”

Main crystal size: 2.6 × 2.3 cm = 1.02” × 0.91”

JFD110AO3: Fine, elegant and on matrix, this small specimen shows us why Panasqueira stands out from any other locality for its fluorapatites.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (±1988)

Specimen size: 2 × 1.4 × 1.4 cm = 0.79” × 0.55” × 0.55”

Main crystal size: 1.4 × 0.7 cm = 0.55” × 0.28”

JFD102AO2: An important piece. The Quartz is a floater, with recrystallizations on both sides and, hanging from it, a beautiful group of very isolated Fluorite cubes with dodecahedron faces on their edges and an intense blue color. The most remarkable thing about this piece, apart from the fact that it was in a very important French collection, is the fact that it is not from the more recent Fluorite finds there, but is much older, from the year 2000 approximately. Back then this was one of the best fluorites ever found in Panasqueira…
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal

Specimen size: 11.4 × 5.7 × 5.9 cm = 4.49” × 2.24” × 2.32”

Main crystal size: 1.6 × 1.5 cm = 0.63” × 0.59”

JFD101AO2: Nothing special but, as always in Panasqueira, with 'something' particular. It has the added value of having been in the private collection of a Portuguese doctor who at the time was very assiduous in trying to obtain the best pieces that came out of Panasqueira.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (±1985)

Specimen size: 4 × 2.6 × 0.5 cm = 1.57” × 1.02” × 0.20”

Main crystal size: 3 × 0.7 cm = 1.18” × 0.28”

JFD100AO2: Despite their general uniformity, Panasqueira specimens can show a lot of variety. This Ferberite is very different from those that usually appear there since its crystals are highly elongated and fine, forming a kind of lattice. Fortunately, I am certain that it is from there since I bought it in 1990 in the mine 'Escritorio', freshly extracted from the mine by Zé da Tropa.
Minas da Panasqueira, level 2, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (1990)

Specimen size: 2.5 × 2.3 × 1.9  cm = 0.98” × 0.91” × 0.75”

Main crystal size: 1.4 × 0.2 cm = 0.55” × 0.08”

JFD92AO1: I do feel a little love for the siderites of Panasqueira. With much less fame than other mineral species from this mine, its variety of forms and its frequent association with other species always attracted me. This specimen well represents what I want to say - The crystal is sharp, its color is pleasant and it shows in its center a kind of growth phantom of trigonal symmetry. In addition, it is associated with Muscovite and Arsenopyrite, both of good quality.
Minas da Panasqueira, level 2, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (03/1995)

Specimen size: 6.2 × 5.1 × 2.6 cm = 2.44” × 2.01” × 1.02”

Main crystal size: 5.1 × 4.2 cm = 2.01” × 1.65”

JFD91AO1: These columnar fluorapatites are called in Panasqueira “hydroxylapatites”, unfortunately without any foundation since all the ones I have had analyzed were all textbook fluorapatites. This does not stop them from being very showy, as this one is, and very different from the usual patterns.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (±2005)

Specimen size: 4.3 × 3.3 × 2.6 cm = 1.69” × 1.30” × 1.02”

Main crystal size: 2.1 × 0.2 cm = 0.83” × 0.08”

JFD77AO0: A great specimen of Fluorapatite, very perfect, a floater, with very good colour, zoning, and outstandingly sharp and lustrous.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (±1989)

Specimen size: 8.4 × 6 × 3.3 cm = 3.31” × 2.36” × 1.30”

Main crystal size: 1.7 × 1.5 cm = 0.67” × 0.59”

JFD75AO0: When I bought this very unusual piece I had many illusions because of its alleged rarity and, as often happens, analyses demolished my illusions. It's a Pyrite, just Pyrite, but it's weird as hell, right?
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (±1988)

Specimen size: 7.1 × 3.9 × 3.7 cm = 2.80” × 1.54” × 1.46”

Main crystal size: 3.1 × 2.6 cm = 1.22” × 1.02”

JFD246AQ1: A great French classic with a very majestic, thick and shiny Cassiterite crystal. The crystal does not have any matrix, but its base is clearly recrystallized, so the piece could be considered a floater, which added to the fact that its upper termination is perfect, makes it stand out from most of those seen from there.
In short: high quality and very unusual.
La Villeder, Le Roc-Saint-André, Vannes, Morbihan, Brittany/Bretagne  France (±1900)

Specimen size: 4.8 × 3.7 × 3.8 cm = 1.89” × 1.46” × 1.50”

JFD231AP9: Le Beix is a mythical name in French mineralogy. Unlike those of Puy-Saint-Gulmier, not all the fluorites from Le Beix are deep blue, but some, like this one, attract attention due to the intensity of the blue, and even more for the contrast of the color between these crystals and their white Quartz matrix.
It comes from an old collection, like the vast majority of the few pieces that come on the market. Nothing is found there anymore.
Le Beix Mine, Saint-Germain-près-Herment, Herment, Clermont-Ferrand District, Puy-de-Dôme Department, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes  France

Specimen size: 9.5 × 7.4 × 5.8 cm = 3.74” × 2.91” × 2.28”

Main crystal size: 1.5 × 1 cm = 0.59” × 0.39”

JFD208AP5: A curiosity from the Trimouns Mine. Well known for its rare earth minerals, things like this Rutile have also been found there in well-developed acicular crystals on a Dissakisite-(Ce) / Allanite-(Ce) crystal, and all on a Calcite matrix with more Dissakisite- (Ce) / Allanite-(Ce) of brownish color.
Trimouns Mine, Luzenac, Haute-Ariège, Foix, Ariège Department, Occitanie  France (±1993)

Specimen size: 4.2 × 3.5 × 3.2 cm = 1.65” × 1.38” × 1.26”

Main crystal size: 0.4 × 0.2 cm = 0.16” × 0.08”

JFD196AP3: Its form is a luxury. The Quartz crystal is long and has a deep twist enabling us to imagine it as a very showy arch, even more so for being on a kind of natural base, also formed of Quartz. Of all the Alpine finds in the Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne area, this one stands out for its attractive deformity.
Le Noirey, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, Savoie, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes  France (1980)

Specimen size: 11.7 × 7.7 × 4.6 cm = 4.61” × 3.03” × 1.81”

Main crystal size: 11.2 × 2.3 cm = 4.41” × 0.91”

JFD195AP3: The size of the Goethite crystals in this piece made me forget that some of them were broken, but really its size and thickness and its good presentation, well placed in a matrix of Quartz, makes the piece very attractive.
Les Redoutières Mine, Chaillac, Le Blanc, Indre, Centre-Val de Loire  France (±1996)

Specimen size: 5.9 × 5.7 × 3.2 cm = 2.32” × 2.24” × 1.26”

Main crystal size: 1.5 × 0.2 cm = 0.59” × 0.08”

JFD181AP1: Found around 1970, this specimen is a good example of the quality of calcites from this classic mine. Although calcites with larger crystals were found there, this piece is very fine, with a matrix of Sphalerite covered by multiple well developed Calcite crystals of good transparency.
Trèves Mine, Fournels Valley, Trèves, Gard, Occitanie  France (±1970)

Specimen size: 8.8 × 7.2 × 4.5 cm = 3.46” × 2.83” × 1.77”

Main crystal size: 1 × 1 cm = 0.39” × 0.39”

JFD163AO8: Alain is an inexhaustible source of French surprises. I bought this cobaltoan 'fried egg' from him in Tucson 2020, very shortly before the world stopped due to the pandemic. When I saw the specimen for the first time I was convinced that it was from the San Carlos mine in Huesca, Spain, It looks so much like the Spanish ones! That it was a former Alain collection piece convinced me to buy it.
Les Cabesses, Rivèrenert, Saint-Girons, Ariège Department, Occitanie  France (2018)

Specimen size: 11.3 × 7.1 × 3.7 cm = 4.45” × 2.80” × 1.46”

Main crystal size: 7.1 × 5.6 cm = 2.80” × 2.20”

JFD140AO6: What a pleasure when Farges Pyromorphites are so good!
In Baryte, with very raised crystals and two generations of color, brown at the base and very green at the termination. With a curious pedigree too, since it comes from a great Barcelona collector who bought it from me in 1996 and from whom I bought it back for my own collection in 2012. A great piece.
Les Farges Mine (Des Farges Mine), 150m.↓, Ussel, Corrèze, Nouvelle-Aquitaine  France (1974)

Specimen size: 8.6 × 5.6 × 3.4 cm = 3.39” × 2.20” × 1.34”

Main crystal size: 1.4 × 0.5 cm = 0.55” × 0.20”

JFD125AO4: Le Burc is one of the three localities in the triad of French blue fluorites, together with Le Beix and Puy-Saint-Gulmier. Obviously this piece does not have a particularly intense blue, but at the time I liked its transparency, perfection and, why not, its color, since although it is far from the electric blue of other fluorites in that triad, it is nevertheless fine and elegant.
Le Burc Mine, Alban-Le Fraysse area, Tarn, Occitanie  France (±2005)

Specimen size: 7.7 × 5.3 × 4.4 cm = 3.03” × 2.09” × 1.73”

Main crystal size: 1.8 × 1.7 cm = 0.71” × 0.67”

JFD99AO2: The fluorites from Buxières-les-Mines are striking for their globular appearance and for the brilliance and transparency of the multitude of small crystals that make up the globules. In addition, in this specimen the two colors stand out, the typical brown from the locality and a violet color in some areas.
I bought it from Alain Martaud in 2011, and he got it from Dr. Martin's collection.
Buxières-les-Mines, Moulins, Allier, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes  France

Specimen size: 9.7 × 8 × 3.3 cm = 3.82” × 3.15” × 1.30”

Main crystal size: 0.7 × 0.7 cm = 0.28” × 0.28”

JFD79AO0: A sensational piece (or at least it seems so to me) in which the Pyromorphite has large crystals and a very nice color zoning: the body of the crystals is brown and the terminations are yellow. The piece is a floater, very perfect, and it has a good luster, unlike others with this color association that are usually more matte. It is the fruit of a time in my life when, due to my great passion for Des Farges pyromorphites, I constantly visited the homes of former miners there, and sometimes, as in this case, got a pleasant surprise.
Les Farges Mine (Des Farges Mine), Ussel, Corrèze, Nouvelle-Aquitaine  France (±1975)

Specimen size: 5.8 × 4.1 × 2.6 cm = 2.28” × 1.61” × 1.02”

Main crystal size: 1.2 × 0.9 cm = 0.47” × 0.35”

JFD247AQ1: One of the first fluorites to be seen from El Hamman, this piece found and purchased in the year 1985 already pointed to what that mine later demonstrated: intense color, extraordinary fluorescence under UV light, and staggered growths, often fringed by crystals of Quartz.
El Hammam, Ait Mimoune, Khémisset Province, Rabat-Salé-Kénitra Region  Morocco (1985)

Specimen size: 8.5 × 7.6 × 3.8 cm = 3.35” × 2.99” × 1.50”

JFD248AQ1: For a short time during the year 2005 these titanites in Microcline were being found in the Imilchil area. I really liked them because of the contrast between the Titanite and the Microcline, and because the Titanite crystals were almost always very isolated, so I bought many pieces from that find. Among all of them this was one of the ones I selected, precisely because of the good contrast between the Titanite and the Microcline.
Imilchil area, Anti-Atlas, Er Rachidia Province, Drâa-Tafilalet Region  Morocco (02/2005)

Specimen size: 9.6 × 6.6 × 4.5 cm = 3.78” × 2.60” × 1.77”

Main crystal size: 1.1 × 1 cm = 0.43” × 0.39”

JFD249AQ1: In the 1980s-1990s little was known about these well-crystallized goethites from Tizirine-Sidi Rahal, which used to be labeled “Pyrolusite”, because their main seller, Infles Abdullah, had his basar near the Imini manganese mine.
Later it was learned that the crystals were pleochroic and when analyzed were confirmed to be goethites.
This fine piece comes from that glorious period, associated with a group of Calcite crystals, although Calcite, curiously, is a species that is not abundant in these vugs.
Sidi Rahal, El Kelaâ des Sraghna Province, Marrakech-Safi Region  Morocco (±1980)

Specimen size: 12.5 × 10.2 × 5.6 cm = 4.92” × 4.02” × 2.20”

Main crystal size: 1 × 0.9 cm = 0.39” × 0.35”

JFD250AQ1: This is the last piece of my collection that I propose for sale to the public, since this is the end of the
journey for Fabre Minerals. That is why I wanted piece no. 250 of my collection to be a special piece, of great quality, and what could be more special than one of the legendary anglesites from Touissit, undoubtedly the best in the world.
This one has superb color, the crystal is large and it is in very good condition, as are all the smaller crystals around it. As the crystal is so centered in its Galena matrix you have to display it by turning the piece a little so that it can be seen better and you can appreciate its exceptional luster and the darker colored interior inclusions.
I am aware that I am describing it in a very superlative way, but, what can I do, it is the last piece of my collection that I am offering and I have tried to make this farewell piece a really special piece.
Shaft IX (Puit IX), Touissit, Touissit District, Jerada Province, Oriental Region  Morocco (1989)

Specimen size: 9.1 × 9 × 6.3 cm = 3.58” × 3.54” × 2.48”

Main crystal size: 6 × 2 cm = 2.36” × 0.79”

JFD236AQ0: I liked that the associated Quartz was reddish, I liked that the Epidote fans were quite widely spaced and brilliantly lustrous, and I liked the general shape of the piece and its size. In short: I liked it.
Jebel Masker, Imilchil area, Tounfit, Khénifra Province, Beni Mellal-Khenifra Region  Morocco (08/2019)

Specimen size: 12.6 × 6.8 × 5.5 cm = 4.96” × 2.68” × 2.17”

Main crystal size: 0.9 × 0.8 cm = 0.35” × 0.31”

JFD230AP9: One of the first proustites that arrived from Imiter. They did not have the crystal size that was seen later, but they were very red and with sharp crystals. They were the forerunners.
Imiter Mine, Jebel Saghro, Imiter District, Tinghir Province, Drâa-Tafilalet Region  Morocco (2003)

Specimen size: 7.7 × 4.7 × 2.9 cm = 3.03” × 1.85” × 1.14”

Main crystal size: 0.2 × 0.1 cm = 0.08” × 0.04”

JFD226AP8: Very well crystallized and large Andradite crystal, with other associated Andradite crystals and with some matrix.
I got it in 2015 at the Expominer Show in Barcelona, where it stood out for its morphology from all the other pieces with smaller crystals and not as isolated as this one.
Imilchil area, Anti-Atlas, Er Rachidia Province, Drâa-Tafilalet Region  Morocco (±2009)

Specimen size: 5.6 × 4.2 × 3.9 cm = 2.20” × 1.65” × 1.54”

Main crystal size: 3.3 × 2.8 cm = 1.30” × 1.10”

JFD221AP7: Many isolated crystals of Roselite, without cracks or damage, of good size and luster, and with the “fresh” matrix Calcite showing no etching or corrosion.
The size of the piece and its matrix-crystal ratio are in excellent balance, and thus all seems to be in its place in this great piece, and with the intense color of the Roselite being the cherry on the cake.
Agoudal Mines, Tansifite, Agdz, Bou Azzer mining district, Zagora Province, Drâa-Tafilalet Region  Morocco (2013)

Specimen size: 6 × 4.8 × 4.2 cm = 2.36” × 1.89” × 1.65”

Main crystal size: 0.6 × 0.5 cm = 0.24” × 0.20”

JFD220AP7: This Aragonite flower is unique, being so well placed in the center of the small vug in the Goethite. All the crystals in the piece are brilliant and everything seems to be in harmony.
Tizirine, Ouarzazate Province, Drâa-Tafilalet Region  Morocco (05/2011)

Specimen size: 4.2 × 2.5 × 1.5 cm = 1.65” × 0.98” × 0.59”

JFD219AP7: Their color and sharpness characterize Touissit azurites, as well as their reddish to orange Dolomite matrix.
This crystal, very isolated, combines all that is expected for this locality, and, for its size, synthesizes the virtues for which these azurites are famous.
Touissit mining area, Touissit District, Jerada Province, Oriental Region  Morocco (±1985)

Specimen size: 4.6 × 3.5 × 2.3 cm = 1.81” × 1.38” × 0.91”

Main crystal size: 0.9 × 0.5 cm = 0.35” × 0.20”

JFD218AP7: Well balanced, harmonious, and with elongated Siderite crystals to provide some contrast.
This Acanthite has several virtues, being, unlike many others from Imiter, lustrous and not rough surfaced at all.
Imiter Mine, Jebel Saghro, Imiter District, Tinghir Province, Drâa-Tafilalet Region  Morocco (09/2005)

Specimen size: 2.4 × 1.9 × 1.3 cm = 0.94” × 0.75” × 0.51”

Main crystal size: 0.9 × 0.5 cm = 0.35” × 0.20”

JFD216AP6: I have already said at other times that the 'basaristes' of Morocco had a prominent role in the development of the mineral trade that exists in that country. I acquired this piece in 1984 when Touissit was in its splendor, and I bought it from one of the basaristes in Asni, a town located about 1000 km away from Touissit! The small town of Asni would have had about 7,000 inhabitants at that time, and despite so few people there was already a large group of mineral vendors who, in their precarious 'basars', offered pieces from remote locations, sometimes as good as this one. If I hadn't experienced it myself, I would have a hard time believing it.
Touissit mining area, Touissit District, Jerada Province, Oriental Region  Morocco (±1984)

Specimen size: 4.6 × 3.5 × 2.7 cm = 1.81” × 1.38” × 1.06”

Main crystal size: 2.7 × 2.1 cm = 1.06” × 0.83”