Mineral Collection Images

My Mineral Collection, Introductory Page

I finally got a better camera! It's a surplus Sony DXC-3000 with a Fujinon 1:1.7 / 10-120 mm zoom lens - I love it! I'll gradually upgrade my images. Later on I bought a B+W 72E NL5 +5 diopter closeup lens - it really makes a difference!

The uncredited images are mine - the remaining images are attributed to and copyrighted by their respective authors. Any errors in attribution are mine (and accidental) - if (when) you find any please get in touch with me, adg@cmu.edu, so I can correct them. Obtaining quality specimens through the Web and online auctions has made it possible for me to have a much better collection than I would have otherwise and I don't want to slight anybody!

My images are essentially unretouched - I have occasionally increased the contrast or sharpness to clarify things. I don't have a lot of control over the lighting - it's warmer than I'd like, and the camera tends to oversaturate a little. So, my images tend to come out a little redder than they appear in person.

I've been collecting since I was a kid and I'm finally starting to specialize (a little). Garnets will probably always be at the top of my list. I'm also interested in the oxides (spinels, rutile, etc.), sphalerites of good color, metal ores and sulfosalts (copper, lead, zinc, etc - the chemistries and colors are fascinating), and good crystallizations in general. I also like specimens with mineral associations (like this Morenci mixed copper ore.). Finally, I like optically interesting specimens.

Pride of Place: All of my specimens have been obtained for one reason or another - they may not all be pretty and may only be here because of their rarity or chemistry or technological importance. Some of the more esthetic ones will have purple borders and Type Locality specimens with have gold borders (and some will have both).

There are lots of images so I've decided to split them into multiple pages covering different parts of my collection. Like most amateur collections, mine's in two parts - the first set of pages covers minerals that are grouped by function (gemstone, copper, lead, and zinc minerals) or mineral type (quartz, fluorite, calcite, pyrite, and sphalerite) because I have a lot of specimens in those categories. The systematic (chemical) arrangement is more scientific and I generally have fewer of those (except for the silicates). The images on each page are in alphabetical order, older specimens first, varietals last. I try to follow the newer Strunz classification (rather than Dana) scheme.

The uncredited specimens have either been dug up personally or purchased at various mineral shows (like the annual Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show) and "rock shops" (most notably).

Bob Patak
Shadyside Mining Company
738 Copeland Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15232
(412) 688 8088
http://www.shadysideminingco.com

Garnets are one of my favorites so they're first! For some general info on garnet types and varieties, please see my miscellaneous garnets page.

Collection Pages	Last Updated
My garnet collection. my almandine garnet collection. my andradite garnet collection. my grossular garnet collection. my pyrope (and miscellaneous) garnet collection. my spessartine garnet collection. my uvarovite garnet collection. my quartz collection. my gemstone collection. my fluorite collection. my calcite collection. my copper mineral collection (including a monster veszelyite crystal for sale). my lead mineral collection. my zinc mineral collection. my pyrite collection. my sphalerite collection. my cassiterite collection. my systematic mineral collection. my element collection. my sulfide collection. my halogenide collection. my oxide collection. my carbonate collection. my borate collection. my sulfate collection. my phosphate collection. (including a gorgeous ludlamite crystal array for sale and a beautiful scorodite crystal for sale) my tungstate collection. my systematic silicate collection. my nesosilicate collection. my sorosilicate collection. my inosilicate collection. my cyclosilicate collection. my phyllosilicate collection. my tectosilicate collection. my organic collection. my miscellaneous collection. Slabs and mixed associations that don't (easily) fit anywhere else.	27 May 2006 25 Jul 2008 31 May 2002 25 Mar 2006 21 Mar 2002 21 Mar 2002 6 Mar 2005 13 May 2006 7 Mar 2005 14 Feb 2005 6 Apr 2008 25 Jul 2009 8 Apr 2006 4 Mar 2005 3 Mar 2005 18 Apr 2009   18 Jul 2007 16 Aug 2009 15 Apr 2006 25 Jul 2009 17 Feb 2008 17 Feb 2008 15 May 2005 30 Mar 2008 27 Feb 2005   21 Jun 2008 5 Jul 2008 19 Feb 2005 13 May 2006 16 Feb 2005 16 Aug 2009 26 Feb 2005 3 Apr 2004

These are some of the field guides and mineralogy books that I have.

maintained by: Alan Guisewite

Last Update 18 Apr 2009