Carpe Minerals by Carles Manresa

CTX77CD6: Group of Adamite crystals on matrix, with faces and edges well defined, arranged radially, with uniform yellow color, becoming more reddish towards the terminations.
The specimen comes from the collection of duplicates of Carles Curto (number 1986.46), whose digital catalogue file we will send to the buyer.
Mapimí, Municipio Mapimí, Durango  Mexico (+1986)

Specimen size: 4.4 × 3.8 × 2.4 cm = 1.73” × 1.50” × 0.94”

Main crystal size: 1.7 × 1 cm = 0.67” × 0.39”

EXB86CD6: Floater specimen formed of very shiny skeletal Pyrite crystals that partially cover a group of characteristic yellow Fluorite crystals from the Mina Moscona, as you can see on the back of the piece.
This specimen is very old, as this type of specimen was found at the beginning of mining, which began in 1978. A rarity.
Moscona Mine, El Llano, Solís, Corvera de Asturias, Comarca Avilés, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain (+1985)

Specimen size: 4.6 × 4.4 × 3.3 cm = 1.81” × 1.73” × 1.30”

TBZ97CD6: Aggregate of tabular Baryte crystals with faces and edges very well defined and of a very uniform sea-blue color.
This specimen, of high quality for the locality, one from which one seldom sees specimens, comes from the collection of Miguel David Martínez Pérez, whose label we will send to the buyer.
San Simón Mine, La Parreta, Alumbres, Cartagena, Comarca Campo de Cartagena, Region of Murcia (Murcia)  Spain

Specimen size: 12.1 × 7.9 × 4 cm = 4.76” × 3.11” × 1.57”

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

NXP16CD6: Very aerial floater Fluorite specimen made up of cubic crystals with well defined faces and edges and polycrystalline growths of a bluish color typical of La Viesca, forming staggered growths on which Quartz crystals have grown in a very aerial way, probably by epitaxial growth on an ancient Calcite crystal already completely dissolved when the Quartz was precipitated.
A very characteristic and notable example of what the La Viesca Mine, which closed in 2021, used to offer.
La Viesca Mine, La Collada mining area, Huergo, Siero, Comarca Oviedo, Principality of Asturias (Asturias)  Spain

Specimen size: 13.8 × 9.9 × 7.4 cm = 5.43” × 3.90” × 2.91”

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

TMT66CD6: Group of coralloidal aggregates formed by Malachite crystals of uniform grass-green color on limonitic rock matrix from the Tazalarht mining district in Morocco.
Tazalarht mining area, Taroudant Province, Souss-Massa Region  Morocco (2023)

Specimen size: 6.8 × 6.5 × 3.7 cm = 2.68” × 2.56” × 1.46”

EBB26CD6: The Dolphin. Over a small Quartz matrix, a multitude of small Malachite crystals of uniform green color, completely pseudomorph a previous crystal or crystals of Azurite and make up what looks like the shape of a dolphin or a fish, very well placed on a base (which is the Quartz matrix). Sharp and lustrous green Dioptase crystals adorn the specimen with a darker, more intense tone.
Kapata area, Kolwezi District, Lualaba, Katanga Copper Crescent, Katanga (Shaba)  Congo (Zaire), Democratic Republic of the (02-03/2023)

Specimen size: 7.1 × 4.8 × 3.6 cm = 2.80” × 1.89” × 1.42”

Main crystal size: 7.1 × 2.3 cm = 2.80” × 0.91”

TZZ54CD6: Grandidierite crystal of considerable size for the species, of a very uniform and deep bluish green color, and accompanied in the base of the crystal by a pseudomorph, possibly after Tourmaline, replaced by minerals whose species could not be clearly identified, beyond being a mixture of silica gel with remnants of Opal.
Mineralogy never ceases to surprise us, and certainly the pegmatites of Madagascar do not stop surprising us.
Tranomaro-Maromby area, Amboasary District, Anosy Region (Fort Dauphin Region), Toliara Province (Tuléar)  Madagascar

Specimen size: 4.1 × 3.4 × 1.2 cm = 1.61” × 1.34” × 0.47”

Main crystal size: 4.1 × 3.1 cm = 1.61” × 1.22”

MBX16CD6: Very special specimen. Three generations of Mimetite coexist, with three different morphologies. Colorless and zoned Mimetite crystals were deposited on the matrix first, followed by another generation of Mimetite crystals with inclusions of Arsendescloizite that give it the showy greenish coloration that can be seen in a good part of the specimen, and finally the largest and best developed more classic Mimetite crystals, yellow in color, and with a crown of crisscrossing crystals at the top of the piece.
The specimen has been analyzed due to its complexity, as is often the case with specimens from Tsumeb.
Tsumeb Mine, Tsumeb, Otjikoto Region  Namibia

Specimen size: 7.3 × 5.8 × 3.7 cm = 2.87” × 2.28” × 1.46”

Main crystal size: 1 × 0.6 cm = 0.39” × 0.24”

CMB46CD3: Aggregate of equant Copper crystals, one of them aerial, with deformed and curved faces and edges, and well-defined morphology.
The specimen comes from the collection of duplicates of Carles Curto (number 1970.18) whose digital catalogue file we will send to the buyer of the specimen.
New Cornelia Mine, Ajo, Little Ajo Mountains, Ajo District, Pima County, Arizona  USA

Specimen size: 1.6 × 1.4 × 0.8 cm = 0.63” × 0.55” × 0.31”

Main crystal size: 1 × 0.5 cm = 0.39” × 0.20”

MLR66CD4: Rich group of Kinoite crystals forming a coating on an andesitic rock matrix. They are very lustrous and have vivid reflections of an intense light blue color. It comes from the well-known Christmas mine in Arizona, USA.
The specimen was from the collection of Jean-François Demaizière, whose label we will send to the buyer.
Christmas Mine, Christmas, Banner District, Dripping Spring Mountains, Gila County, Arizona  USA

Specimen size: 4.3 × 3.4 × 2.3 cm = 1.69” × 1.34” × 0.91”

EXR46CD1: Granted, more spectacular azurites came out of Milpillas, but for a great classic locality like the Copper Queen mine, this piece is not bad at all, with a lot of luster, very perfect and with the Azurite crystals grouped in rosettes.
The piece is a floater and has Malachite on both sides.
Copper Queen Mine, Queen Hill, Bisbee, Warren District, Mule Mountains, Cochise County, Arizona  USA

Specimen size: 9.4 × 7.8 × 6.2 cm = 3.70” × 3.07” × 2.44”

Main crystal size: 0.7 × 0.4 cm = 0.28” × 0.16”

CRM50CD3: Complete Spodumene floater crystal (kunzite variety) with the arrow-shaped twin characteristic for this type of specimen, translucent with a quite intense pink color. The spodumenes from this locality are legendary since at the time they were a reference for the species, competing with the Brazilian ones.
The specimen comes from the collection of duplicates of Carles Curto (number 1987.06) whose
digital catalogue file we will send to the buyer.
Himalaya Mine, Gem Hill, Mesa Grande District, San Diego County, California  USA

Specimen size: 7.4 × 5.8 × 1 cm = 2.91” × 2.28” × 0.39”

MPQ48CD2: Druse of well-developed rhombohedral crystals of Rhodochrosite, with slight curvatures on the faces and edges, shiny, of a very intense and uniform pink color, and on matrix. Accompanied by Galena and white spheroidal coatings of Quartz microcrystals.
From a French collection, it is a splendid example from this classic American locality, both for the richness of crystals and the intensity of color.
Sunnyside Mine group (American Tunnel Mine), Bonita Peak, Gladstone, Eureka District, San Juan County, Colorado  USA

Specimen size: 11 × 10.8 × 5.4 cm = 4.33” × 4.25” × 2.13”

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

XMP27CD5: Group of thick tabular Wulfenite crystals on a spathic Calcite matrix with small scattered crystals of the arsenical variety of Vanadinite. The Wulfenite crystals are characterized by being bicolored, smooth and yellow-orange at the ends and rougher in appearance and deeper in color in the center of the crystals.
Los Lamentos Mountain Range, Municipio Ahumada, Chihuahua  Mexico

Specimen size: 6.8 × 3.6 × 3.2 cm = 2.68” × 1.42” × 1.26”

Main crystal size: 1.4 × 0.6 cm = 0.55” × 0.24”

CRC66CD1: Descriptive text by Carles Curto:
Aggregate of cuboctahedral Galena crystals on a matrix of Calcite.
Naica, Municipio Saucillo, Chihuahua  Mexico (1988)

Specimen size: 4.6 × 3.7 × 2.2 cm = 1.81” × 1.46” × 0.87”

Main crystal size: 2.1 × 1.6 cm = 0.83” × 0.63”

CXM29CD2: Group of prismatic Epidote crystals, one of them clearly dominant, highly profiled with a defined polycrystalline termination. The crystals are shiny and very dark green, almost black.
One of the best-known specimens for the locality, both for its definition and the fact that the crystal group is on matrix.
The specimen belongs to Carles Curto's duplicate collection (number 1988.31), and the print of the digital card will be sent to the buyer.
Taxco de Alarcón, Municipio Taxco, Guerrero  Mexico

Specimen size: 7 × 3.9 × 3.1 cm = 2.76” × 1.54” × 1.22”

Main crystal size: 3.5 × 2 cm = 1.38” × 0.79”

TAX50CD4: Azurite crystals on matrix, grouped in aggregates forming rosettes of slightly curved but very sharp crystals. With excellent luster and the best deep 'electric blue' color so characteristic of the Milpillas mine in Mexico, which is now closed.
A specimen of very high quality in which the contrast between the white matrix and the blue Azurite crystals is even more highlighted by the presence of grass-green fibrous Malachite crystals.
It should be noted that the presentation of Azurite crystals as rosettes is not common in Milpillas.
Milpillas Mine, level 1280, Cuitaca, Municipio Santa Cruz, Sonora  Mexico (2016)

Specimen size: 9.7 × 6.6 × 3.2 cm = 3.82” × 2.60” × 1.26”

Main crystal size: 2.2 × 1.1 cm = 0.87” × 0.43”

EBZ37CD1: The Wardite crystal is sharp, with better (deeper) color than usual, and has the curiosity of carrying small Lazulite crystals within the Wardite crystal, which generates a curious contrast of colors.
Stoneman Camp, Young's Creek, Dawson mining district, Yukon Territory  Canada

Specimen size: 3.6 × 3 × 2.4 cm = 1.42” × 1.18” × 0.94”

Main crystal size: 1.6 × 1.4 cm = 0.63” × 0.55”

TVA94CD4: Group of perfectly sharp and profiled Sphalerite crystals with complex crystallography and twinning, with the characteristic honeyed color, transparent, implanted on a rock matrix, on very sharp snow-white Dolomite crystals.
The specimen comes from a classic Spanish mine for Sphalerite, located in a spectacular landscape next to the Picos de Europa National Park, and it has been inaccessible for many years due to the galleries being flooded.
From the collection of Andrés Jiménez Shelly who bought it years ago from Jordi Fabre.
Áliva Mine (Las Mánforas Mine), Áliva mining area, Camaleño, Comarca Liébana, Cantabria  Spain

Specimen size: 6.3 × 4.9 × 1.7 cm = 2.48” × 1.93” × 0.67”

Main crystal size: 1.4 × 1.3 cm = 0.55” × 0.51”

MHH88CD3: On a matrix formed by the “frailesca” rock which is typical of the Almadén area, there are several cavities which have developed Cinnabar crystals, one of them clearly dominant with the predominant forms of the rhombohedron, with curved edges, extraordinarily lustrous and deep carmine-red. They are associated with small Calcite crystals and droplets of Mercury scattered in the matrix, plus tiny lustrous Pyrite crystals.
A classic association for the now extinct Las Cuevas Mine, in the Almadén mining district, although, unlike most specimens from this mine, the crystal is sharper and redder than what used to come out there.
Las Cuevas Mine, Almadén, Comarca Valle de Alcudia, Ciudad Real, Castilla-La Mancha  Spain

Specimen size: 6.7 × 4.9 × 3.1 cm = 2.64” × 1.93” × 1.22”

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

TFB93CD4: Group of numerous Cinnabar crystals with perfectly defined faces and edges, dominated by rhombohedron forms, translucent and very lustrous, and very vivid in color with marked striations on the crystal faces and on matrix.
An excellent classic of Spanish mineralogy from the collection of Andrés Jiménez Shelly whose label we will send to the buyer, and on which the annotation M.C.N. is observed, indicating that it belonged to the Museum of Natural Sciences of Madrid.
Almaden Mine, Almadén, Comarca Valle de Alcudia, Ciudad Real, Castilla-La Mancha  Spain

Specimen size: 10 × 5.2 × 4.2 cm = 3.94” × 2.05” × 1.65”

Main crystal size: 0.8 × 0.7 cm = 0.31” × 0.28”

TPP90CD5: Complex twinned Scheelite crystal, with polycrystalline growths, well defined faces and edges and a uniform and intense color with orange tones and good luster. This antique specimen comes from the first period of mining the La Parrilla concession, which was one of the largest tungsten mining areas in Spain.
It comes from the former collection of Andrés Jiménez Shelly.
La Parrilla Claim, Santa Amalia, Don Benito-Almoharín, Comarca Vegas Altas, Cáceres, Extremadura  Spain (1989)

Specimen size: 4.2 × 4 × 2.6 cm = 1.65” × 1.57” × 1.02”

TBF26CDD: The best-colored barites from Murcia come from the San Jorge mining group. Carefully selected, this piece comes from the collection of Miguel David Martínez.
San Jorge mining group, Sierra Minera de Cartagena-La Unión, Portmán, La Unión, Comarca Campo de Cartagena, Region of Murcia (Murcia)  Spain

Specimen size: 5.3 × 4.3 × 4 cm = 2.09” × 1.69” × 1.57”

Main crystal size: 1.7 × 1.6 cm = 0.67” × 0.63”

MAX51CD2: Intergrown crystals of well-defined, transparent, shiny, and aerial Dolomite on its matrix.
The dolomites from Eugui are one of the hallmarks of Spanish mineralogy, and this particular piece stands out for the great transparency of its crystals and their aerial and individualized shape.
Asturreta Quarry, 'el pozo', Eugui, Esteríbar, Comarca Auñamendi, Chartered Community of Navarre (Navarre)  Spain (+1970)

Specimen size: 7.9 × 7.3 × 5.7 cm = 3.11” × 2.87” × 2.24”

Main crystal size: 1.6 × 1.4 cm = 0.63” × 0.55”

XPR47CD5: Lustrous thick tabular crystals of Fluorapatite, two of them clearly dominant, with very well defined faces and marked hexagonal contours and with an obvious geometric color zoning, green in the center of the crystal and intense lilac around the entire perimeter. Associated with small Muscovite and Pyrite crystals. A floater.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal

Specimen size: 4 × 4 × 2.2 cm = 1.57” × 1.57” × 0.87”

Main crystal size: 3.3 × 2.4 cm = 1.30” × 0.94”

LTX66CDD: A great collection, a great piece. This specimen, one of the first we sold when acquiring this collection, has returned to us and remains crystallographically distinct and attractive.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (±2014)

Specimen size: 6.5 × 5.8 × 4.2 cm = 2.56” × 2.28” × 1.65”

Main crystal size: 5.3 × 4.3 cm = 2.09” × 1.69”

WRW97CD2: Druse of Fluorapatite crystals of good size, with a prismatic habit, many of them totally or partially doubly terminated, translucent, shiny, and deep green. Some, especially the main crystal, have recrystallized fibrous-looking faces in white. On matrix, with lenticular Siderite crystals and well-colored shiny Chalcopyrite crystals.
Like all specimens in Raúl Sanabria's collection, it was chosen with great care, always aiming to have something special that sets it apart.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal

Specimen size: 15.4 × 13.4 × 6.9 cm = 6.06” × 5.28” × 2.72”

Main crystal size: 4.5 × 4.5 cm = 1.77” × 1.77”

TBX17CD5: Pyrite is not the most common mineral in the Panasqueira mines, but from time to time curious samples like this one have been found, formed by a group of very lustrous pineapple-shaped crystals with a cavity that shows a crystal of cubic morphology, also of Pyrite, adorning the entire specimen, which comes from the former collection of Francisco Fernández Ortega. A floater.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal

Specimen size: 7.7 × 7 × 4.8 cm = 3.03” × 2.76” × 1.89”

Main crystal size: 1.3 × 1 cm = 0.51” × 0.39”

WZP50CD2: Group of hyaline Quartz crystals, all doubly terminated, with very defined faces, and some with polycrystalline terminations. They have a sharper and 'cleaner' appearance than the typical Panasqueira quartz, with coatings of Siderite and leafy aggregates of Muscovite.
Like all specimens in Raúl Sanabria's collection, it was chosen with great care, always aiming to have something special that sets it apart.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal (06/2021)

Specimen size: 14.7 × 7.2 × 5.4 cm = 5.79” × 2.83” × 2.13”

Main crystal size: 14.2 × 3.5 cm = 5.59” × 1.38”

WPF66CD2: Very well-developed Quartz crystal with parallel growth on the terminal faces and several very sharp, black, and shiny crystals of Cassiterite. The Quartz is partially coated with small lenticular crystals of Siderite, in turn covered with very shiny microcrystals of Pyrite.
Like all specimens in Raúl Sanabria's collection, it was chosen with great care, always aiming to have something special that sets it apart.
Minas da Panasqueira, Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Cova da Beira, Centro  Portugal

Specimen size: 17.5 × 9.8 × 9.4 cm = 6.89” × 3.86” × 3.70”

Main crystal size: 1.4 × 1 cm = 0.55” × 0.39”

MXA74CD4: A historical piece. Fine sharp tabular Azurite crystal aggregate with very visible flat faces of very brilliant luster and intense blue color forming rosettes crisscrossed with each other. The specimen stands out both for its good size as well as for its origin, the primitive 'Mine Bleu' opened by miners in 1811, and which yielded numerous vugs full of Azurite, as evidenced by this specimen.
It comes from the Moutet collection of Marseille with an original Deyrolle label that came attached to a cardboard box and that we will send to the buyer.
Mine Bleu, Chessy-les-Mines, Les Bois d'Oingt, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes  France

Specimen size: 7.8 × 6.5 × 3.7 cm = 3.07” × 2.56” × 1.46”

Main crystal size: 1.2 × 0.3 cm = 0.47” × 0.12”

EPF47CD1: From an unusual locality, with sharp crystals and a good green color, this large and undamaged specimen of Pyromorphite is a good representation of what was found in the past in this classic French locality.
Nuissière Mine, Chénelette, Thizy-les-Bourgs, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes  France

Specimen size: 12.3 × 8 × 5 cm = 4.84” × 3.15” × 1.97”

Main crystal size: 0.5 × 0.2 cm = 0.20” × 0.08”

TBB68CD4: Floater piece with natural cavities that is very characteristic of the Des Farges Mine, both for the morphology of the crystals, being slightly tapered and curved prisms with flat ends, as well as the excellent luster and yellow color (somewhat greenish), with more color zoning deep in the center of the crystals.
A classic of French mineralogy from Henri Jammot's collection.
Les Farges Mine (Des Farges Mine), Ussel, Corrèze, Nouvelle-Aquitaine  France

Specimen size: 4.4 × 2.4 × 2.9 cm = 1.73” × 0.94” × 1.14”

Main crystal size: 2 × 0.5 cm = 0.79” × 0.20”

TXF97CD5: This rare arsenate of sodium, calcium and magnesium displays an intense and uniform yellow color and crystalline appearance, on a rock matrix partially covered by Calcite which gives a beautiful color contrast. Also has small dark grains of Hausmannite.
The Berzeliite comes from the type locality for the species, the Långban metamorphic manganese-iron deposit with its very complex skarns and pegmatites, which has provided a whopping 78 type localities of mineral species.
Långban, Filipstad, Värmland  Sweden

Specimen size: 6.1 × 4.2 × 3.7 cm = 2.40” × 1.65” × 1.46”

Main crystal size: 0.3 × 0.2 cm = 0.12” × 0.08”

EPR86CD4: Mammillary/botryoidal aggregate formed by crystals of Chalcopyrite known as the 'blister copper' variety.
A true antique and a classic of English mineralogy from the collection of Colonel John Wilson Rimington and which is accompanied by an original label and an old box, which we will send to the buyer. The prestigious Drouot auction house in Paris auctioned the piece in 1912.
Carn Brea, Pool, Illogan, Camborne - Redruth - Saint Day District, Cornwall  England / United Kingdom

Specimen size: 2.4 × 2.3 × 2.1 cm = 0.94” × 0.91” × 0.83”

EEF86CD4: Mammillary/botryoidal aggregate formed by crystals of Chalcopyrite known as the 'blister copper' variety.
A true antique and a classic of English mineralogy from the collection of Colonel John Wilson Rimington and which is accompanied by an old label from the Deyrolle establishment in Paris, which we will send scanned to the buyer of the piece. The prestigious Drouot auction house of Paris auctioned the piece in 1912.
Carn Brea, Pool, Illogan, Camborne - Redruth - Saint Day District, Cornwall  England / United Kingdom

Specimen size: 2.7 × 2.1 × 1.7 cm = 1.06” × 0.83” × 0.67”

TFX16CDD: A good example of two uncommon species, one of them, the Hilgardite, a true rarity, especially due to its intense red color contrasting with Boracite.
It comes from the famous Lindsay Greenbank collection (No. DDLG2526) and from the collection of Emmanuel C. Bravais (Ref. EB4691)
Boulby Mine, Loftus, Yorkshire  England / United Kingdom

Specimen size: 8 × 4.1 × 4 cm = 3.15” × 1.61” × 1.57”

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