Mineral Collection Images

My Mineral Collection, Fluorites Page

This is my fluorite collection. The words fluorine and fluorescent originated from the study of fluorite and it's used as a source of fluorine in industry. Fluorite is very difficult to photograph - its inherent fluorescence causes both a color shift and an increase in color saturation.
Halides on Other Pages
For other halides, see my systematic halides page.
Specimens on This Page (links take you to either the first or only specimen)
antozonite - fluorite with extra fluorine trapped within the crystal interstices fluorite including a blue john massive multicolor banded variety ratovkite - impure, earthy variety yttrofluorite - fluorite with a substantial amount of yttrium replacing the calcium

15 Rows
Fluorite A nice miniature cluster of colorless fluorites from the Xiang Hua Ling Mine in the Hunan Province of China. Thanks to Dave Hayward at Lucky Strike Minerals for the specimen!	Fluorite Another fluorite - this miniature's from the Cave-In-Rock District in Hardin County, Illinois (one of the famous locations for fluorite). The purple zoning here is really interesting! There are also chalcopyrite inclusions. Thanks to Brett Shafer at The Mineral Vug for the specimen!	Fluorite A large fluorite miniature from the Rosiclaire Level of the Annabel Lee Mine, Harris Creek District, Hardin County, Illinois. The zoning on the fluorite is much better than the photo shows. There are at least four generations of fluorite (from inside-out) - sky blue, medium blue, dark purple, and light purple. There are several microcrystals of calcite scattered around. Thanks to Rick Green at Uniquely Crystalline for the specimen and the image!
Row 2
Fluorite A small cabinet fluorite and calcite on sphalerite from the Elmwood Mine in Carthage, Smith County, Tennessee. An association on massive sphalerite (zinc sulfide) the principal ore of zinc. There are two big lavender fluorites and three smaller ones - the small ones are combination cubes and tetrahexahedrons.The sphalerite crystals range from transparent yellowish-brown through translucent reddish-brown to opaque black and the calcites are transparent doubly-terminated (and some twinned) scalenohedrons - a beautiful specimen, especially under a loupe! Thanks to Brett Shafer at The Mineral Vug for the specimen and the image!	Fluorite This dark purple miniature is from (probably) the Sierra Grande Mine, Múzquiz, Coahuila, Mexico - the faces are smoother and glossier than those from either Illinois or Tennessee. Thanks to Brett Shafer at The Mineral Vug for the specimen and the image!	Fluorite Black fluorites - the first ones I've seen; there are some purple ones here (larger image, bottom) as well and some of them are zoned. The fluorites are cemented in place by colorless calcite in this large cabinet specimen from Santa Eulalia District in Chihuahua, Mexico. Thanks to Dan Wienrich at Dan & Jill Weinrich for the specimen!
Row 3
Fluorite This small cabinet specimen of pale blue green fluorite cubes on limonite and quartz are from the La Barre Mine, Pougibaud, France. Thanks to Chris Korpi at Pangaea Minerals for the specimen!	Fluorite More fluorites from China - this large cabinet's from the Shangbao Mine, Leiyang in the Hunan Province. They're a very pale green and are modified cubes. Thanks to Chris Korpi at Pangaea Minerals for the specimen!	Fluorite Gorgeous pink to purple translucent and well crystallized octahedrons of fluorite on a barite and quartz matrix from the Mina Navidad, Durango, Mexico. These small cabinet pieces were coated with the barite / quartz as well and had to be cleaned with acid, thus the frosty appearance - still a uniquely beautiful color, though. Thanks to Chris Korpi at Pangaea Minerals for the specimen!
Row 4
Fluorite This miniature of light blue fluorites is from the Minerva #1 Mine, Cave-in-Rock, Hardin County, Illinois. Thanks to Marcus Origlieri at The Mineral Zone for the specimen!	Fluorite The fluorites on this miniature from Heights Quarry, Weardale, County Durham, England are colorless and very transparent. There's also some white nailhead calcites and one piece of massive galena. The fluorites fluoresce a bright blue, but only on the faces and phantom faces, while the calcites fluoresce pink and orange. The closeup shows a nice interpenetration twin. Thanks to the Mineral Gallery for the specimen and the image! Image copyrighted by the Mineral gallery.	Fluorite A large cabinet plate full of fluorite from the Nancy Hanks Claim, Unaweep Canyon, Mesa County, Colorado and it fluoresces a beautiful bright blue. I've sharpened the closeup to show detail. Thanks to Brian McManus at the Pebble Peddler for the specimen!
Row 5
Fluorite This yellow fluorite miniature's from Valzergues, Aveyron, France as is its cousin in the larger photo. Thanks to Dave Hayward at Lucky Strike Minerals for the specimen and the image!	Fluorite Gemmy purple fluorites like this miniature from the Denton Mine, Cave-In-Rock, Hardin County, Illinois don't occur often enough! The larger image shows (middle row) three closeups of phantoms, including a corner one, and (bottom row) a bright "hot spot" when lit from directly above. Thanks to Bob Keller at the Arizona Mineral Company for the specimen and the image! Image copyrighted by the Arizona Mineral Company.	Fluorite This transparent fluorite miniature from the Okaruso Mine in Namibia has red, green, blue, and purple zoning. The larger image (bottom right) shows an octahedral phantom. Thanks to Chris Korpi at Pangaea Minerals for the specimen!
Row 6
Fluorite The Blanchard Mines near Bingham, Socorro County, New Mexico are famous for their light-blue fluorites. [miniature] Thanks to Dave Hayward at Lucky Strike Minerals for the specimen and the image!	Fluorite Dark purple fluorite from (probably) the Sierra Grande Mine, Múzquiz, Coahuila, Mexico - the best of five miniatures, it has some white barite on the bottom. Thanks to Olympic Mountain Gems, Inc. for the specimen!	Fluorite Small transparent purple fluorites on a pearly dolomite (miniature) matrix from the Xianghuapu Mine, Chenzhou area, Hunan province of China. Thanks to Miao Yang's auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 7
Fluorite A small cabinet specimen of light green dodecahedral fluorite on quartzite from the Deer Trail Mine, Marysvale / Mount Baldy, Piute County, Utah. Thanks to Scott M. Lewis's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Fluorite Nice clean purple fluorite miniature from Mexico. Thanks to Farnk P. Butler's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Fluorite Mina El Tule (Tule Mine) in Coahuila, Mexico is known for these purple edge-zoned cityscape fluorites.[small cabinet] Thanks to Kevin MacNelly's (Geodeland) auction on eBay for the specimen!
Row 8
Fluorite This light green and very transparent fluorite small cabinet piece comes from the Xianghualing Mine, Chenzhou area, Hunan Province, China - you can see the matrix through most of them. Thanks to Gil Nelson's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Fluorite This is a miniature of green octahedral fluorite on matrix from (probably) Selet, Malmberget, Lappland, Sweden. Thanks to Dan Balan at The Opalloid Gallery for the specimen and the image!
Row 9
Fluorite This is a small thumbnail of color-change fluorite from the 1999 dig at the Rogerley Mine, Frosterley, Weardale, County Durham, England. It's intensely fluorescent in a sky-blue color - not the typical deep blue-violet. The larger image shows: (top row) incandescent and fluorescent lighting; (middle row) perched on a small flashlight and moved from backlit to frontlit; and (bottom row) viewed from two other sides. Interestingly, the color change is almost absent when the light comes from the top. A truly beautiful and fascinating specimen! the intense fluorescence was surmised to have caused by rare-earth element (REE) impurities and recent analyses of Rogerley Mine fluorite (Falster et al, 2001) have confirmed elevated levels of a suite of REEs, including yttrium, cerium, lanthanum, samarium, and neodymium. Thanks to Jennings "Beau" Gordon's (Jendon Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen!	Fluorite Unlike the neighboring fluorites from Bingham, Socorro County, New Mexico, this miniature from the Royal Flush Mine, Garden Spring Canyon is a translucent deep violet. Thanks to Kevin MacNelly's (Geodeland) auction on eBay for the specimen!	Fluorite This partial crystal miniature is from the famous William Wise Mine in Westmoreland, Cheshire County, New Hampshire. Thanks to John Veevaert at Trinity Minerals for the specimen and the right-hand larger image!
Row 10
Fluorite A thumbnail cluster of clear pale green fluorites also from the Xianghualing Mine, Hunan Province, China. Thanks to Miao Yang's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Fluorite This miniature fluorite is also from Mina El Tule. Thanks to Bob Keller at the Arizona Mineral Company for the specimen!	Fluorite The Hunan Province in China was the home of this miniature of light violet zoned fluorites with pronounced dodecahedral modifications. Thanks to Greg Holland at the Stone Haven Mineral Shoppe for the specimen!
Row 11
Fluorite A gemmy light pink fluorite thumbnail cluster from the Huanzala Mine, Huanuco Department, Peru - there's some tiny pyrites and some black sphalerite present as well. Thanks to Keith Hayes' (KQ's Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Fluorite A small cabinet polished banded fluorite also from the Hunan Province, China. Thanks to Eric Greene's (Treasure Mountain Mining) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Fluorite An odd miniature of Okaruso Mine, Namibia fluorite coated with hematite. Thanks to Craig Ackermann's (KalahariMinerals.com) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 12
Fluorite The Auglaize Quarry, Junction, Defiance County, Ohio is famous for its iridescent fluorites.[miniature] Thanks to H M & D Minerals' table at the 2002 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen!	Fluorite A beautiful miniature of colorless fluorites on galena and quartz with sphalerite and chalcopyrite from Naica, Mexico. The last two images (larger image, bottom center, right) show the transparency - the center one is focused on the top and the right is focused on the bottom of one of the crystals. Thanks to Tom Hales' (Museum Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!	Fluorite This transparent pale violet fluorite thumbnail comes from the Dolomite Products Corporation Quarry, Walworth, Wayne County, New York. It's open to collection only one weekend a year. Thanks to Val Collins' auction on eBay for the specimen and the image!
Row 13
Fluorite A miniature of small amber fluorite on matrix from the Pugh Quarry, Custar, Wood County, Ohio. As is typical of Midwest fluorites, these glow pale yellow under LUV (organic inclusions). Thanks to Vince Olsovsky's auction on eBay for the specimen!	Fluorite This is a beautiful miniature of sharp amber fluorite cubes with trapezohedral modifications from the Bluffton Stone Co. Quarry, Allen County, Ohio. See Joe Vasichko's article for more info on the Bluffton fluorites. The larger image shows the corner mods (top right, bottom left) and the bottom right (fluorescent) image shows the zonal (organic) fluorescence. Thanks to Joe Vasichko's Rockmanjoe Minerals auction on eBay for the specimen and the article!	Fluorite This impressive small cabinet Rogerley is from the late 2004 find at the Galena Vug Zone, where high lead concentrations made some interesting chnages to the usual Rogerley fluorite. The color change is still there, only it's more complex, ranging from an indoor olive-green / lavender to an outdoor purple / steel-blue! The crystals often are capped with micro quartz and also often have inclusions and phantoms. Thanks to Patricia Smith's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 14
Fluorite, var. Antozonite Antozonite is a variety of fluorite with excess fluorine - when freshly broken, the fluorine reacts with the oxygen in the atmosphere producing ozone (with its characteristic aroma) and headaches for the miners. This fascinating and colorful miniature (Ex: Ralph W. Dietz Collection) is from the type locality of Grube Roland, Wölsendorf, Oberpfalz, (Brensdorf, Nabburg), Germany. Thanks to Tom Bee's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!	Fluorite, var. Blue John A beautiful miniature of Blue John (massive banded fluorite) from the varietal type locality of the Old Tor Mine, Castleton, Derbshire, England - this piece was collected in 1930! Thanks to Tony Nikischer at the Excalibur Mineral Company for the specimen!	Fluorite, var. Ratovkite Ratovkite (ratofkite) is the name given to the impure, earthy variety from the Ratofka River, R'chevskji District, NW Moscow Region, Russia. This miniature has purplish ratkovite in limestone. Thanks to Dieter Obrecht's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
Row 15
Fluorite, var. Yttrofluorite Yttrium can replace some of the calcium in fluorite - this miniature (with a Burminco label) comes from Hundholmen, Tysfjord, Nordland, (northern) Norway. Thanks to Bill Awald's auction on eBay for the specimen!

maintained by: Alan Guisewite

Last Update 26 Jan 2011