The collection today holds more than 44,000 mineral specimens,……10s of thousands of rocks ….… thousands of thin sections ….… thousands of micromounts ….… several hundred meteorites and impact-related materials ….… and hundreds of fluorescent specimens.The mineral collection alone represents more than 90 countries, all 50 U.S. states, and more than 1,000 individual mineral species.
The Collection features minerals from classic localities….
Native Gold from the Sierra Nevadas of CaliforniaNative Silver from the Spanish colonial mines of MexicoDiamonds from the Kimberley Mines of South AfricaOpal from AustraliaTurquoise from the American SouthwestCalcites from the Joplin mines of MissouriMalachites and Azurites from the Bisbee Mines of ArizonaStibnite from Japan
… and minerals from lesser-known mines with rich and interesting histories.
Lazurite from the mine that provided the pigments for:the blue scarf in Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” (1665), and …the blue inset stones in the Mask of Tutankhamun (1323 BCE)Native gold from the mines that the Romans used to finance their wars.Radioactive minerals from the mine where Marie Curie got her uranium…… the sample tags for these are often burned by radioactivity.
Many of our specimens are legacies of mines that motivated colonial occupations and enormous social violence ….
Hemimorphite from “Belgian Congo” (modern-day Zaire)Cerussite from Broken Hill, Australia Amethyst from Minas Gerais, BrazilSilver ore from Potosi, Bolivia: “The Mountain That Eats Men”Hemimorphite from “Rhodesia” (modern-day Zambia)Dioptase from “German South West Africa” (modern-day Namibia)
Many are poison or carcinogenic ….
Native Arsenic in mineral formCinnabar, which can cause mercury poisoningOrpiment, which can cause arsenic poisoningStibnite, which can cause antimony poisoningChrysotile asbestos, which can cause cancer
Many more are truly bizarre ….
Half-melted saltThe first atomic bomb created this mineral. Close-up of the small spheres of liquid mercury that are seeping out of this rock.These rocks were polished in the stomach of a dinosaur.Petrified Lightning!
And some are just beautiful…
Kyanite blades from the Swiss AlpsCrocoite from TasmaniaAzurite on Smithsonite from Bisbee, ArizonaWulfenite from Arizona