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Useful links

This list of links is aimed at those who wish to obtain more detailed information on minerals.

We will add more links and update the ones already here as we get information on more useful links. If you have any suggestions please let us know.

Some of these links in turn lead you to even more link pages, which can also be useful. For example the Mineral collectors page has links to other useful museum sites.

Magazines

	"Mineral up" it is a magazine published by the G.M.C. and is offered in three languages: Catalan, Spanish and English. The quality of the photos is very high, both in their printing and in the actual photos.
	High quality magazine dedicated to the mines and minerals of Spain. It was published in Madrid.
	The best known English language magazine with information of the latest finds and the major localities.
	Another US magazine, which is also great for its news, information on collections and on finds.
	Great French magazine with information on a wide range of localities, both French and worldwide.
	A German magazine, a great reference source for the systematic collector.
	Another high quality German magazine with a excellent worldwide list of mineral shows.
	The copies of Extra Lapis have become a benchmark in the mineral world, for both the quality of the writing and of the images. The Lithographie company, which has run by mineral enthusiasts, publishes the English version of Extra Lapis, which are not only in English but which have additional texts and new photos. Highly recommended.
	The best from Italy. Excellent photos.
	The best from the UK. Very exhaustive articles on the mineralogy of the British Isles.
	Page published in German with lots of good photos. Even if your German is non-existent the photos make a visit worth while.

Mineralogical information

	IMA mineral properties database, useful as a means of avoiding errors or confusion. The IMA-RRUFF Project is creating a complete set of high quality spectral data from well characterized minerals. The website will contain an integrated database of Raman spectra, X-ray diffraction and chemistry data for minerals.
	This is the most powerful source of information on minerals, localities and photos. The amount of information held in the system is massive. While it may take a visitor some time to find what they want among all this data, it is without doubt very useful.
	A large compilation of mineralogical data with many photos. They have put a lot of effort into offering the maximum amount of data. It is German, but as we all speak a common mineralogical language it is not hard to understand.
	An intuitive and free piece of software that can be used to catalogue a mineral collection. It can store up to four photos per record, has lots of useful data fields including price indexing, can be indexed in 9 different ways to suit all your needs, and has many more features...
	A great database of mineralogical information.
	A simple database which you can sort as needed and which holds lots of useful data.
	Minerals and where they are found.
	Extensive list of the museums of the world, edited by the Mineralogy Club of Antwerp, Belgium.
	If you want to search for minerals this page, put together by people who are enthusiastic about nature and about looking for minerals, will give you lots of very useful information.
	Academic Web Page of Dr. John Rakovan, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, USA. John is a professor of mineralogy and also a long time mineral collector.
	Web page of the developers of a CD on mineralogy. It is a nice and original system aimed at the educator, collector and geologist.

Museums

In Spain
Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Álava		In Álava, in the north of Spain. A well maintained collection of Spanish minerals, with some exceptional specimens.
Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona (Natural Sciences Museum, Barcelona)		This museum opened in 2011 and it incorporates the most modern museum concepts. Within the museum are housed the mineralogy and petrology collections that formerly were in the Museo de Geología (Museo Martorell), giving it a large collection of both documentation and minerals. The museum has a web page in Catalan, Spanish and English. Use this link to connect directly with the mineralogy collection
Museo Histórico-Minero Don Felipe de Borbón		The museum of the Madrid school of mines. A classic building with excellent historic specimens.
IGME		Museum in a beautiful building which is well worth visiting for its own sake.
Museu Mollfulleda de Mineralogia		Small local museum, created through the donation of a private collection.
In France
École des Mines, Paris		The largest collection of minerals in France, so you can spend hours visiting them.
Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris		French National Natural History Museum. Located in a large park. Great classic specimens and lots of high quality material.
La collection de Minéraux de l'Université Pierre et M. Curie		Easy to visit, with an esthetic display of beautiful minerals.
Musée des Cristaux, Espace Tairraz, Chamonix Mont-Blanc		Located in the alpine town of Chamonix Mont-Blanc. An excellent collection of alpine minerals (red-pink fluorites included) and selected specimens from French mines.
In Germany
Bergakademie Freiberg		One of the world's best mineralogical museums given the donation of Dr. Erika Pohl-Ströher collection.
Mineral Gallery		Images of common mineral species. University of Bremen.
The Clausthal Mineral Collection		University of Clausthal.
Mineralogisches Museum		University of Philipps, Marburg.
Museum Reich der Kristalle Mineralogische Staatssammlung		Munich. Museum Reich der Kristalle.
In Switzerland
Natural History Museum of Bern		The Museum of Bern, Switzerland.
Uri's Crystal Museum, Seedorf, Uri		It is located on the main road Seedorf-Bauen. Several and excellent alpine minerals from Swiss strahlers recent finds.
Binntal Regionalmuseum Binn, Valais		Small but very interesting mineral museum located in the Binn Valley (Valais, Switzerland). Binntal alpine minerals and a showroom dedicated to Lengenbach quarry. Very popular in the collectors interested for rare sulfides.
Goldmuseum Aathal		The private collection of Siber+Siber on public display. Located at 30 minutes from Zurich downtown.
The rest of Europe
The Natural History Museum		In London, England. For many years the best Natural history museum in Europe, with vast quantities of minerals.
Naturhistorisches Museum Vienna		The reference museum for specimens from eastern Europe, but it also has exceptional worldwide specimens. In a majestic building.
Geological Museum (Copenhaguen)		While not that well known this is an excellent museum, the best in northern Europe with a wide ranging collection and lots of Spanish minerals.
Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano		The Natural History Museum of the city of Milan, Italy. The mineralogy section has notable Italian and pegmatite specimens, enhanced by excellent material from Madagascar.
Museo Mineralogia e Litologia di Firenze		Museum of mineralogy of the University of Florence, Italy. Pleasant, historic but with recent acquisitions as well.
National Museums of Scotland		Entry point for all the major Scottish museums.
Swedish Museum of Natural History		Swedish Natural History museum.
Teylers Museum Haarlem The Netherlands		Dutch Natural History museum.
The United States
The Smithsonian Institution, Museum of Natural History		A really impressive museum with many of the best specimens ever found.
Houston Museum of Natural Science		Another excellent north American museum with some superb specimens, Really esthetic.
American Museum of Natural History		A world-class Museum with vast collections, a research mandate, a gallery with 3800 specimens of minerals and gems and separate meteorite and geology halls
The New York State Museum		The New York State Museum in Albany, NY holds a definitive collection of NYS minerals. Sixteen cases of minerals are well displayed and rotated frequently.
Natural History Museum - Los Angeles County		In the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History. Very high quality material.
University of Arizona Mineral Museum		Classically organized systematic museum with superb regional mineralogical depth fleshed out with excellent worldwide minerals, micromounts and meteorites.
Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum		Tellus has the finest Georgia minerals on exhibit, but this is a small part of the overall scope. There are 41 cases with more than 1200 minerals from worldwide localities. Exhibits are arranged by physical properties including a fluorescent exhibit area, systematic mineralogy, Georgia specific minerals, US and worldwide locations, and gold and gems.
The A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum		Official mineralogical museum of Michigan, Michigan Technology University, Houghton.
Peabody Museum of Natural History		Yale University.
Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals		The finest collection of minerals in the Pacific Northwest; world class specimens of rhodochrosite, sperrylite, phosgenite, legrandite, Arizona minerals, northwestern U.S. minerals, and the Rudy Tschernich collection of zeolites.
Other worldwide museums
Museum of Victoria, Melbourne		Melbourne, Australia.
Museu de Mineralogia e Petrologia Luiz Englert		The best of Brazil.

Spanish groups and organisations

	MTI (Mineralogía Topográfica Ibérica) is a Blog that is being used as a test base for creating a common source of  mineralogical information, with special emphasis on mineral localities. It is very up to date and it includes a very wide range of information, which ranges from magazines, shows and exhibitions through to new finds or detailed descriptions of classic and modern localities. Highly recommended.
AMYP	Association formed to act as the spearhead of the mineralogists and institutions in Spain.
G.M.C.	Grup Mineralògic Català. This is the mineralogical group from Catalonia, the area that includes Barcelona. They are very active and helpful.
Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona (Natural Sciences Museum, Barcelona)	Excellent documentation resources for the delight of all bibliophiles.
Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Minas de Madrid	The school of mines in Madrid. Many things to do here, including visit a reproduction of a mine.
IGME	Spanish mining and geological institute. Everything you need on the geology and mines of Spain.

Other groups and organisations

Géopolis		A group of French people that are all interested in Earth Sciences. It is made up of collectors, professionals, geologists, students, museum curators, etc. and its activities are somewhere between informal and scientific, as one would expect with such a variety of interests. The French reference site for people interested in minerals.
The Pegmatite Interest Group (PIG)		An interactive webpage, hosted by the Mineralogical Society of America, that is dedicated to the pegmatites. Serves as a bridge between academic professionals and amateur scientists, collectors, and other pegmatite enthusiasts.
AGAB		Belgian association of geologists, very enthusiastic and with lots of information on the minerals of Katanga.
Association Française de Microminéralogie		If you like micromounts, which are small samples of great perfection and beauty, this page in French and English is a great source of information.

 

Shows

Tucson Gem & Mineral Shows During the first two weeks of each year, in the middle of the Arizona desert you can visit the annual Tucson Gem & Mineral Showcase, the biggest group of Shows in the US and in the world.
Denver Gem and Mineral Show	Another great US Show.
Detroit Show	The Detroit, Michigan show, which was in the past one of the most important shows in the US.
Other main US Shows	List and links of most of the main US shows.
Escuela de Minas de Madrid Show	Held in the halls of the prestigious School of Mines, Madrid. Along with Sant Celoni it has the best atmosphere of all the Spanish shows. In both cases people go to talk about minerals and to be there "for the minerals".
Expominer Show	The Barcelona show. A "must visit" for all the Catalan mineral lovers, and also for many of those from the rest of Spain. It is held in the Feria de Muestras, Barcelona, a good location. Don't miss it.
Fosminer Show	The most revered of all the Spanish shows, friendly and fun. A visit is obligatory for all the mineral collectors of Northern Spain.
FIPP (Brazil)	Mineral and precious stones show held in Teofilo Otoni, Minas Gerais, Brazil. A great annual opportunity to see all the mineralogical delights of Brazil at the same time.

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Mineralogy on line

Minerals and mineralogy
Endomorph or Pseudomorph?		Comments about Endomorphism and Pseudomorphism. Is pseudomorph often an incorrect description of an endormorph?
Very little mineralogy in mineral collecting today		The intellectual curiosity of mineral collectors. Intense and heavy discussion about its importance.
How to photograph my specimen(s)		One of the most difficult tasks many collectors face is how to easily get good pictures of their specimens. Here is some good advice from several experts.
Right labels		Discussions about what should be the content of a correct mineral label and how to properly design it.
Labels and history		Gathering former owners' labels as a way to keep for the future an important part of the history of every specimen in your collection.
Freeware: Mineral Database		An intuitive and free computer program to catalog a mineral collection. It can store up to 4 photos per record, has lots of useful data fields, can be indexed in 9 different ways to suit all your needs, and much more...
Self collected		Questioning the rightness of the expression "self collected", often used by mineral collectors, but that seems not to be appropriate.
What defines a mineral's "quality"?		A great discussion about what is a rather subjective topic: what a mineral's quality actually is.
Specimen Criteria		What should we think about before taking the decision of purchase (a specimen) to keep us from making a mistake?
The New Generation		How the new mineral collector generations can influence the evolution of the hobby.
Mines and mineral localities
Very nice Amethyst in the Railroad Works in North of Spain		A casual find of Amethystine Quartz in a railroad cut in Girona, Spain. The joy of the discovery and the field work to dig nice minerals.
Exceptional finds
Join us to dig a giant amethyst geode		One of the world's biggest geodes. All of the extraction process, from the discovery to the actual removal.
Micros and macros
The tricks of Christian Rewitzer to do micro photographs		Christian Rewitzer, one of the best microphotographers, explains his tricks to achieve superb photos as well as an array of his "art works"
Preparing and cleaning minerals
Numbering specimens		How collectors number their specimens? Is there a preferred type of label to affix? Is it better not to try to attach anything directly to the mineral...?
Sensitive minerals		A brief guide about the sensibility to light of some minerals as well as the toxicity of some others.
Collection photos
Gail's collection		A lot of images and posts of one of the most popular collections: beautiful collection of Gail Spann.
John S. White collection		The excellent single crystal collection assembled during the last fifteen years (starting in 1994) by John S. White is being posted here for everybody to enjoy.
Collection of Carles Millan		Nice and highly diversified collection, that clearly reveals the owner's love of minerals and mineralogy.
Trips and museum visits
Visiting the Smithsonian		A trip to the famous Smithsonian Museum through the eyes of someone visiting it for first time, plus images of other people to complete the overview.
My visit to the Folch Collection		A superb chronicle by Joan Massagué with great details about his visit to what might have been the world's best private mineral collection until the eighties, built by the industrialist Joaquim Folch i Girona (died in 1984), and located at the Mediterranean city of Barcelona.
The marvelous collection "Cristalli" & Brief guide about Florence		Excellent photos of the majority of the specimens in the great collection of Adalberto Giazotto. Informative Guide on a visit to this small collection and more general tourist guide to the city of Florence.
Incorrect classification and fakes
Palladium-rich gold from Icabaru, Venezuela		Discussion about the "Palladium-rich Gold" from Venezuela. It seems that not only they contain no Palladium, but also it appears that they are electrolitically grown.
The histories behind mineral specimens
The Almadén's "Spanish flag"		Some detailed history involving Sr. Folch Girona and his connection with Almadén Cinnabar.
Off-Topic
Auctions and prices		Auctions, prices and their influence on the mineral market.
Buying minerals as an investment?		Should we purchase minerals because we love them or because we want to keep our assets alive? Or a little of both?

 

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Events

 

 

MINERALEXPO (Barcelona, SPAIN) 2 March (starting at 3:00 PM) - 4 March 2012 Mineralexpo Sants is an annual mineral show that is held during the first weekend of March in the Cocheras de Sants, Barcelona (Calle de Sants, 79). This show, in some senses, takes the place of the Sant Celoni Show as the Sant Celoni show was held during the same weekend, although it is now held during the first Sunday of May. The people that organize the show are the Grupo Mineralógico Catalán, a group whose objective is to promote mineralogy. So that is why the show has a limited number of dealers, with the aim of focusing on minerals for collectors. Click here to find out more about the MineralExpo Barcelona-Sants 2012 Show (text only in Spanish) Use this link to find out what was new at the Mineralexpo 2012 Show (text only in Spanish) If you want some news about previous Mineralexpo shows, follow this link Grup Mineralògic Català: http://www.minercat.com

ESCUELA DE MINAS DE MADRID SHOW 9 - 11 March 2012 Held in the halls of the prestigious Escuela de Minas, Madrid. Along with Mineralexpo it has the best atmosphere of all the Spanish shows. In both cases people go to talk about minerals and to be there "for the minerals". Click here to find out more about the Escuela de Minas-Madrid 2012 Show (text only in Spanish) Use this link to find out what was new at the Escuela de Minas 2012 Show (text only in Spanish) If you want some news about previous Escuela de Minas shows, follow this link

SAINTE-MARIE-AUX-MINES 21 - 24 June 2012 Towards the end of June a very special place in France, Val d'Argent, has a show that is different from all the regular ones. Together collectors, visitors, and dealers share the marvellous countryside, the pleasant food, and, of course, the minerals. So if above all else you want to enjoy yourself during a show this one is not to be missed.   Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines 2011 Show Click on this text or on the image to find out about Ste. Marie 2011 Show If you want some news about previous Ste. Marie shows follow this link

MINERALIENTAGE MÜNCHEN 26 - 28 October 2012 A powerful show, with an enormous range of minerals and extraordinary displays. If you want to know what minerals we had at Munich 2011 click on this text or on the image Click on this text or on the image to find out about Munich 2011 Show If you want some news about previous Munich Shows follow this link

EXPOMINER (Barcelona) 11 - 13 November 2011 Spain's most international show, and the one with the best mineralogical quality. Held in Hall 1 in the grounds of the Fira de Barcelona-Montjuïc, a very prestigious locality within a great architectural area. If you want to know what minerals we had at Expominer 2011 click on this text or on the image (text only in Spanish) Use this link to find out what was new at the Expominer 2011 Show (text only in Spanish) If you want some news about previous Expominer shows follow this link

TUCSON SHOWS During the first two weeks of each year, in the middle of the Arizona desert you can visit the annual Tucson Gem & Mineral Showcase, the biggest group of Shows in the US and in the world. Fabre Minerals is there every year, in room 164 of the former Inn Suites Hotel (now the Hotel Tucson City Center), in order to show of the best of our latest acquisitions. For more information on the show, you can visit the web page for the Major show centers in Tucson, as well as the web page of Tucson EZ-Guide the most popular guide for all the different shows. If you want to know what minerals we had at Tucson 2012 click on this text or on the image Click on this text or on the image to find out about Tucson 2012 Show     If you want some news about previous Tucson shows follow this link

News about shows that Fabre Minerals no longer attends If you want to see some information about shows we used to attend, but actually no longer visit, then use this link or click on the photo.

 

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The web site, started in 1996, was an early leader in the sale of minerals over the Internet, and it allowed collectors to have rapid access to the latest finds as well as a wide range of specimens. If you want more information, please use these link: About Fabre Minerals The Main Page of the web site

FMF English Forum: Last postings Re: a. E. Seaman mineral museum, michigan technological univ., houghton, michigan May 18, 2012 16:17, Author: John Jaszczak Re: a mineralogical trip through the states of usa - south dakota May 18, 2012 11:13, Author: Pierre Joubert Re: a mineralogical trip through the states of usa - south dakota May 18, 2012 10:21, Author: vic rzonca Newest topics and users posts

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