FMF Minerals Gallery

A beautiful scenery in San Miguel open pit: Dramatic contact between gossan, in the uppermost zone, and the underlying semimasive, replacive pyrite. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

A beautiful scenery in San Miguel

Shijiangshan Mine, Shijiangshan village, Yinwu, Linxi, Ulanhad League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China
(Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Analysis of cuspidine (blue line)

Milpillas Mine, Cuitaca, Municipio Santa Cruz, Sonora, Mexico
(Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Analytical results

Milpillas Mine, Cuitaca, Municipio Santa Cruz, Sonora, Mexico
(Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Analytical results

Analytical results (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Analytical results

Andradite Shijiangshan, Ulanhad League, Inner Mongolia A.R., China FOV 0.5 cm Garnet crystals are commonly found implanted on Pentahydroborite. At a first glance (and giving the occurrence of grains and crystals of other metallic minerals) I thought they are Sphalerite, but analysis revealed its nature. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Andradite Shijiangshan, Ulanhad Le

Andradite and Cuspidine
Shijiangshan Mine, Shijiangshan village, Yinwu, Linxi, Ulanhad League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China
FOV 0.9 cm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Andradite and Cuspidine
Shijia

Autunite
Senhora da Assunção Mine, Aldeia Nova, Ferreira de Aves, Sátão, Viseu District, Portugal
FOV 0.8 cm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Autunite
Senhora da Assunção

Autunite
Senhora da Assunção Mine, Aldeia Nova, Ferreira de Aves, Sátão, Viseu District, Portugal
FOV 5 mm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Autunite
Senhora da Assunção

Autunite
Senhora da Assunção Mine, Aldeia Nova, Ferreira de Aves, Sátão, Viseu District, Portugal
(Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Autunite
Senhora da Assunção

Autunite
Senhora da Assunção Mine, Aldeia Nova, Ferreira de Aves, Sátão, Viseu District, Portugal
FOV 1 cm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Autunite
Senhora da Assunção

Barite San Miguel mine, Almonaster la Real, Huelva, Spain Crystal 1 mm. The only mineral that could sate my micromount hunger is the barite, very extended in the gossan of San Miguel. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Barite
San Miguel mine,

Becquerelite
Senhora da Assunção Mine, Aldeia Nova, Ferreira de Aves, Sátão, Viseu District, Portugal
FOV 0.5 cm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Becquerelite
Senhora da AssunÃ

Bertrandite
Senhora da Assunção Mine, Aldeia Nova, Ferreira de Aves, Sátão, Viseu District, Portugal
FOV 5 mm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Bertrandite
Senhora da Assunç

Bertrandite
Senhora da Assunção Mine, Aldeia Nova, Ferreira de Aves, Sátão, Viseu District, Portugal
Xtal 2 mm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Bertrandite
Senhora da Assunç

Beudantite Filón Sur, Tharsis, Alosno, Huelva, Spain FOV 1 mm pseudocubic beudantite crystals from Filón Sur. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Beudantite
Filón Sur, Tharsi

Cerussite Filón Sur, Tharsis, Alosno, Huelva, Spain 1 cm crystal 1 cm crystal of cerussite from the gossan of Filon Sur (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Cerussite
Filón Sur, Tharsi

Cerussite Las Cruces mine, Gerena, Seville, Andalusia, Spain FOv 3.4 mm Cerussite and anglesite crystals are relatively common in the lead rich gossan. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Cerussite
Las Cruces mine,

Chalcocite-covered pyrite
Milpillas Mine, Cuitaca, Municipio Santa Cruz, Sonora, Mexico
crystal 2 cm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Chalcocite-covered pyrite
Milp

Chalcocite-covered pyrite
Milpillas Mine, Cuitaca, Municipio Santa Cruz, Sonora, Mexico
Crystal 2.5 cm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Chalcocite-covered pyrite
Milp

Chalcocite Las Cruces mine, Gerena, Seville, Andalusia, Spain FOV 7 mm Finishing this post with a beautiful chalcocite crystal on calcite. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Chalcocite
Las Cruces mine,

Chalcocite Las Cruces mine, Gerena, Seville, Andalusia, Spain Crystal 3 mm Pseudohexagonal twinning in chalcocite. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Chalcocite
Las Cruces mine,

Chalcocite Las Cruces mine, Gerena, Seville, Andalusia, Spain FOV 1.5 cm Beautiful crystal on calcite. Typical late hydrothermal chalcocite. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Chalcocite
Las Cruces mine,

Chalcocite Las Cruces mine, Gerena, Seville, Andalusia, Spain Chalcocite crystal photographed in situ (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Chalcocite
Las Cruces mine,

Chalcocite Las Cruces mine, Gerena, Seville, Andalusia, Spain 2 cm crystal It is not usual in the IPB to find centimetric crystals of sulfide minerals. I recovered this specimen in 2010, just after the beginning of copper production. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Chalcocite
Las Cruces mine,

Chlorargyrite Filón Sur, Tharsis, Alosno, Huelva, Spain FOV 2 mm Chlorargyrite is relatively common in the gossan of Filon Sur. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Chlorargyrite
Filón Sur, Tharsi

Columbite-Fe
Senhora da Assunção Mine, Aldeia Nova, Ferreira de Aves, Sátão, Viseu District, Portugal
(Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Columbite-Fe
Senhora da AssunÃ

Cuspidine
Shijiangshan Mine, Shijiangshan village, Yinwu, Linxi, Ulanhad League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China
FOV 1 cm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Cuspidine
Shijiangshan Mine, S

Filón Norte, Tharsis, Alosno, Huelva, Spain Filon Norte open pit. At left, the PQ group. At center, the massive sulfide hosted in dark shale is visible. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Filón Norte, Thar
Filon Norte open

Filón Norte, Tharsis, Alosno, Huelva, Spain iron oxide rich streams are common here. But, vascular plants appears not to be feared by the high metal content... (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Filón Norte, Thar
iron oxide rich s

Filón Norte, Tharsis, Alosno, Huelva, Spain Old facilities at Filon Norte open pit (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Filón Norte, Thar
Old facilities at

Filón Norte, Tharsis, Alosno, Huelva, Spain Oxidized pyrite stockwork at Filon Norte. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Filón Norte, Thar
Oxidized pyrite s

Filón Sur, Tharsis, Alosno, Huelva, Spain A pocket performed by rockhunters looking for the beautiful goethite of Filon Sur. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Filón Sur, Tharsi
A pocket performe

Filón Sur, Tharsis, Alosno, Huelva, Spain Filon Sur open pit overview. At left is located the lead rich gossan. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Filón Sur, Tharsi
Filon Sur open pi

Filón Sur, Tharsis, Alosno, Huelva, Spain It’s me after 5 days outdoors and under a diet composed by ham and beer, in front of a Roman gallery. The space for oil lamps are visible. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Filón Sur, Tharsi
It’s me aft

Hulsite
Shijiangshan Mine, Shijiangshan village, Yinwu, Linxi, Ulanhad League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China
FOV 2.5 mm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Hulsite
Shijiangshan Mine, Shi

Johnbaumite and Olshanskyite
Shijiangshan Mine, Shijiangshan village, Yinwu, Linxi, Ulanhad League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China
FOV 9 mm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Johnbaumite and Olshanskyite
S

Johnbaumite
Shijiangshan Mine, Shijiangshan village, Yinwu, Linxi, Ulanhad League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China
FOV 1.2 cm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Johnbaumite
Shijiangshan Mine,

Las Cruces mine, Gerena, Seville, Spain Beautiful perspective of the open pit in 2010. The secondary enrichment zone is visible at the bottom, with black chalcocite rich ore and galena rich ore. Overlying, the thick sedimentary cover (marls and calcarenites) of Guadalquivir basin. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Las Cruces mine,
Beautiful perspec

Las Cruces mine, Gerena, Seville, Andalusia, Spain From the mineral to the market: pure copper slabs prepared for shipping. The hydrometallurgy process of Las Cruces mine is efficient and allow to obtain highly purity copper. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Las Cruces mine,
From the mineral

Las Cruces mine, Gerena, Seville, Andalusia, Spain It’s me collecting in the copper sulfide ore at Las Cruces. In my hand, the specimen pictured previously. See the calcite filled fractures, in whose cavities the chalcocite crystals grow. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Las Cruces mine,
It’s me col

Las Cruces mine, Gerena, Seville, Spain Las Cruces open pit in 2010 (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Las Cruces mine,
Las Cruces open p

Las Cruces mine, Gerena, Seville, Spain View of the contact zone between yellow gossan, black gossan and secondary copper sulfide ore (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Las Cruces mine,
View of the conta

Magnetite
Shijiangshan Mine, Shijiangshan village, Yinwu, Linxi, Ulanhad League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China
FOV 1.3 cm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Magnetite
Shijiangshan Mine, S

Melanterite Filón Norte, Tharsis, Alosno, Huelva, Spain The formation of beautiful melanterite in Filon Norte during cold days soon after raining, is an interesting phenomenon. Occasionally, the crystals are up to 5-10 cm., covering dozens of square meters of soil under the massive pyrite stockpiles. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Melanterite
Filón Norte, Thar

Metatorbernite
Senhora da Assunção Mine, Aldeia Nova, Ferreira de Aves, Sátão, Viseu District, Portugal
FOV 5 mm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Metatorbernite
Senhora da Assu

Miargyrite San Jose mine, San Jose del Progreso, Oaxaca, Mexico FOV 1 cm. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Miargyrite San Jose mine, San Jose

Mimetite and Beudantite Filón Sur, Tharsis, Alosno, Huelva, Spain FOV 2.5 mm. Hexagonal mimetite crystals and minute beudantite (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Mimetite and Beud
Filón Sur, Tharsi

Mimetite Filón Sur, Tharsis, Alosno, Huelva, Spain crystal max. 0.9 mm Typical mimetite on goethite from Filon Sur. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Mimetite
Filón Sur, Tharsi

Mimetite Filón Sur, Tharsis, Alosno, Huelva, Spain Mimetite crystal 2 mm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Mimetite
Filón Sur, Tharsi

Mrazekite
Senhora da Assunção Mine, Aldeia Nova, Ferreira de Aves, Sátão, Viseu District, Portugal
FOV 1.5 mm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Mrazekite
Senhora da Assunçã

old shaft in Peña del Hierro (Nerva, Huelva, Spain). The origin of the famous river Tinto is in the vicinity...All this zone is famous because the Astrobiology work performed here. The zone has been considered a "Mars analog" on Earth and the study of extremophile organisms received a lot of attention here. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

old shaft in Peña del Hierro (Nerv

olshanskyite xrd.jpg (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

olshanskyite xrd.jpg

Olshanskyite
Shijiangshan Mine, Shijiangshan village, Yinwu, Linxi, Ulanhad League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China
FOV 1.5 cm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Olshanskyite
Shijiangshan Mine

Olshanskyite
Shijiangshan Mine, Shijiangshan village, Yinwu, Linxi, Ulanhad League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China
FOV 1.5 cm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Olshanskyite
Shijiangshan Mine

Olshanskyite
Shijiangshan Mine, Shijiangshan village, Yinwu, Linxi, Ulanhad League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China
FOV 1.5 cm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Olshanskyite
Shijiangshan Mine

Olshanskyite
Shijiangshan Mine, Shijiangshan village, Yinwu, Linxi, Ulanhad League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China
FOV 1.5 cm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Olshanskyite
Shijiangshan Mine

Pearceite Las Cruces mine, Gerena, Seville, Andalusia, Spain FOV 1.5 mm Beautiful pearceite crystal, with harmotome (upper right). The matrix is chalcocite-djurleite. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Pearceite
Las Cruces mine,

Pentahydroborite Shijiangshan, Ulanhad League, Inner Mongolia A.R., China FOV 0.9 cm Note the Wurtzite crystal groups backwards. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Pentahydroborite Shijiangshan, Ula

Pentahydroborite Shijiangshan, Ulanhad League, Inner Mongolia A.R., China FOV 1.2 cm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Pentahydroborite Shijiangshan, Ula

Phurcalite and Autunite
Senhora da Assunção Mine, Aldeia Nova, Ferreira de Aves, Sátão, Viseu District, Portugal
(Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Phurcalite and Autunite
Senhor

Phurcalite
Senhora da Assunção Mine, Aldeia Nova, Ferreira de Aves, Sátão, Viseu District, Portugal
FOV 1mm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Phurcalite
Senhora da AssunçÃ

Phurcalite
Senhora da Assunção Mine, Aldeia Nova, Ferreira de Aves, Sátão, Viseu District, Portugal
FOV 2 mm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Phurcalite
Senhora da AssunçÃ

Phurcalite
Senhora da Assunção Mine, Aldeia Nova, Ferreira de Aves, Sátão, Viseu District, Portugal
(Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Phurcalite
Senhora da AssunçÃ

Phurcalite
Senhora da Assunção Mine, Aldeia Nova, Ferreira de Aves, Sátão, Viseu District, Portugal
(Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Phurcalite
Senhora da AssunçÃ

Phurcalite
Senhora da Assunção Mine, Aldeia Nova, Ferreira de Aves, Sátão, Viseu District, Portugal
FOV 2 mm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Phurcalite
Senhora da AssunçÃ

Milpillas Mine, Cuitaca, Municipio Santa Cruz, Sonora, Mexico
(Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Polished section of a crystal show

Proustite Las Cruces mine, Gerena, Seville, Andalusia, Spain crystal 1 cm centimetric crystal in pulverulent galena. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Proustite
Las Cruces mine,

Proustite Las Cruces mine, Gerena, Seville, Andalusia, Spain 0.7 cm crystals The association of proustite (a hidrothermal mineral formed at relatively high temperature) with the secondary, pulverulent and possibly biogenic galena in Las Cruces is intriguing. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Proustite
Las Cruces mine,

Pyrargyrite San Jose mine, San Jose del Progreso, Oaxaca, Mexico FOV 2 mm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Pyrargyrite San Jose mine, San Jos

Pyrargyrite San Jose mine, San Jose del Progreso, Oaxaca, Mexico FOV 2 mm. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Pyrargyrite San Jose mine, San Jos

Pyrargyrite San Jose mine, San Jose del Progreso, Oaxaca, Mexico FOV 2 mm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Pyrargyrite San Jose mine, San Jos

Pyrite-Siderite Filón Norte, Tharsis, Alosno, Huelva, Spain May be not very interesting for the typical mineral collector, but this kind of mineral, called "carbonate ore" and formed by alternating layers of siderite and pyrite, is one of the most interesting minerals to be found in Filón Norte open pit. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Pyrite-Siderite
Filón Norte, Thar

Raman spectrum of the Assunçao phurcalite (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Raman spectrum of the Assunçao phu

Saléeite and Torbernite
Senhora da Assunção Mine, Aldeia Nova, Ferreira de Aves, Sátão, Viseu District, Portugal
FOV 1.2 cm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Saléeite and Torbernite
Senho

Saléeite and Torbernite
Senhora da Assunção Mine, Aldeia Nova, Ferreira de Aves, Sátão, Viseu District, Portugal
FOV 1.2 cm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Saléeite and Torbernite
Senho

Saléeite
Senhora da Assunção Mine, Aldeia Nova, Ferreira de Aves, Sátão, Viseu District, Portugal
FOV 1.2 cm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Saléeite
Senhora da Assunçã

Saléeite
Senhora da Assunção Mine, Aldeia Nova, Ferreira de Aves, Sátão, Viseu District, Portugal
FOV 1.2 mm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Saléeite
Senhora da Assunçã

San Miguel mine: awesome replacive texture. The hydrothermal fluid flowed left to right in the image, giving to the original volcanic rock a characteristic spindle form. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

San Miguel mine: awesome replacive

Screen capture of the wrong Raman spectrum published by RRUFF, a collection of crappy and sometimes erroneous Raman spectra. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Screen capture of the wrong Raman

Siderite Las Cruces mine, Gerena, Seville, Andalusia, Spain FOV 5 mm Siderite crystals and a curious biogenic galena developed in a fossil shell in the Las Cruces gossan. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Siderite
Las Cruces mine,

Sketch that shows our model for the origin of the mineral from southern IPB deposits (in this case, Tharsis). The formation of mineral is dependent on the end Devonian biological crisis. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Sketch that shows our model for th

Sulfur and Covellite Corta Atalaya, Rio Tinto, Huelva, Spain FOV 5 mm and one mineral from Atalaya mine. Sulfur on covellite from the copper enrichment zone of the mine. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Sulfur and Covell
Corta Atalaya, Ri

tangeite.jpg (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

tangeite.jpg

Tangeite
Milpillas Mine, Cuitaca, Municipio Santa Cruz, Sonora, Mexico
FOV 2 mm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Tangeite
Milpillas Mine, Cuita

Tennantite San Jose mine, San Jose del Progreso, Oaxaca, Mexico Crystals 1 cm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Tennantite San Jose mine, San Jose

Ternary diagram of the Freibergite from Oaxaca and the lower and higher silver Freibergite I found reported in the bibliography. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Ternary diagram of the Freibergite

The extremophiles paradise: biogenic terraces in the acidic waters of the river Tinto. The yellow material in the shore is biogenic sulfur. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

The extremophiles paradise: biogen

The famous Atalaya open pit, (Rio Tinto, Huelva, Spain)... (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

The famous Atalaya open pit, (Rio

Torbernite+Saléeite FOV 1 cm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Torbernite+Saléeite

Torbernite
Senhora da Assunção Mine, Aldeia Nova, Ferreira de Aves, Sátão, Viseu District, Portugal
Crystal 1.5 mm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Torbernite
Senhora da AssunçÃ

Torbernite
Senhora da Assunção Mine, Aldeia Nova, Ferreira de Aves, Sátão, Viseu District, Portugal
FOV 5 mm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Torbernite
Senhora da AssunçÃ

Uraninite, Schoepite
Senhora da Assunção Mine, Aldeia Nova, Ferreira de Aves, Sátão, Viseu District, Portugal
FOV 1 cm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Uraninite, Schoepite
Senhora d

View of the miners ghost town in the entrance of San Miguel mine, abandoned between 1920 and 1930. (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

View of the miners ghost town in t

Volborthite
Milpillas Mine, Cuitaca, Municipio Santa Cruz, Sonora, Mexico
FOV 1 cm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Volborthite
Milpillas Mine, Cu

Volborthite
Milpillas Mine, Cuitaca, Municipio Santa Cruz, Sonora, Mexico
FOV 1.2 cm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Volborthite
Milpillas Mine, Cu

Wurtzite Shijiangshan, Ulanhad League, Inner Mongolia A.R., China FOV 0.3 cm The high temperature hexagonal polymorph of Sphalerite, here crystallized on Pentahydroborite (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Wurtzite Shijiangshan, Ulanhad Lea

Xanthoconite Las Cruces mine, Gerena, Seville, Andalusia, Spain FOV 1 mm (Author: Cesar M. Salvan)

Xanthoconite
Las Cruces mine,