2001 Munich Mineral Show Report
a comment of ....Marco Marchesini

In spite of the world economic trend and of the international crisis of the post September 11^th, many people came to the show.

The chairman of the show, Mr. Keilmann, during the welcome speech said he hoped the Mineral Show could be a chance to meet again many friends, to make business and to look for normal life between all the people from every part of the world.

The Mineralientage is not only a place to trade, but also an exceptional temporary museum.

In the Halle B3 some thematic windows were set: remarkable worldwide twins,  Austrian  alpine minerals (emeralds, smoky quartz, titanite), and an outstanding Hotazel rhodochrosite were displayed.

The thread of the special exhibit were the caves and their minerals. An amazing stereographic slide-show and a display of stalactites (formed by many different species) were prepared.

A special area hosted the wonderful Adalberto Giazotto collection, with its giant specimens well crystallized mineral.  It is not easy to see so many big crystals, sometimes of uncommon species. Everyone liked this display, able to collect the agreement of every kind of mineral collector.

Between the wonders, I want to point out a series of sulphur, aragonite and gypsum exceptional specimens from Italy, extraordinary gem quality pegmatite specimens (beryl, spodumene, tourmaline, brasilianite), an huge Campiano anhydrite, rhodochrosite from the Sweet Home mine and one of the best ever seen inesite from China.

Among the exhibitors stands, there were many kind of material, good to met the will of every collector: specimens for all the budgets, micromounts, systematic and aesthetic minerals, giant crystals and also cut stone and jewels.

The days of the Mineral Show are also a good chance to meet many friends, to improve our own  collection, to compare rocks and ideas, for equipment supply, for trading and even for exchanging.

 Some good dealers buy in the first days the material to be sold during the week end.

During the show museum’s curators, top dealers, field-collectors, buyers, and many, many people keen on minerals crowd the three  huge halls in the messegelande of Munich. And usually everybody find something good.

Many are the anecdotes to be told. I just report one of them.

Larry Venezia (Coast to Coast) has some trimmers for sale. Saturday morning a Pakistan guy came with a specimens he wanted to be trimmed: a zeolite matrix partially showing a bright aquamarine beryl, as big as a food-stuffs can.

After some xxxxxxx discussion, Larry finally xxx accepted to operate the aquamarine, meanwhile some onlookers began to crowd the place. After some interlocutory steps, he gave the decisive trim to the stone,   revealing all the six shining faces of the crystal.

The owner of the beryl came back to its stand, pleased with its specimens ready for the sale. After the onlookers dispersed, Larry looked at the remaining of the operation: the matrix of that specimens was mainly calcite with minor laumontite, very easy and more safe to be removed with some diluted acid.

Public relation, temporary exhibits, presentations were enough to fill the show days, but, of course, the core of the Mineralientage is the trade.

We can consider this one as a a good show. Many people came, also if in some case not very expenses prone.

There were plenty of chances to get specimens.

Some old german collection were offered for sale: a good opportunity to get  specimens from Freiberg, from Ifeld (manganite), from Elba island (tourmalines and others pegmatite minerals) and from many classic localities.

On recent finding Western Europe is not as active as some years ago. The famous Eastern localities still produce the classic sulphides specimens from Bulgaria (Madan district) and from Rumania.

 An exhibitor had very attractive specimens from Trepca (Kossovo), including sphalerite,  galena and beautiful ludlamite.

Russian material still pour in.  The usual (but beautiful) uvarovite, wonderful zircon from Urals, Auripigmenthum XX crystals from Caucasus,   rare species from the Lovozero massif,  diamonds, platinum crystals Siberia. Outstanding specimens from Kara Oba (ferberite) and Dalnegorsk (fluorite, datolite, ilvaite).

Many Chinese exhibitors also came with pyromorphite, beryl, scheelite, cinnabar. Some good hematite was also see, associated with quartz (sometimes scepter-like) and rare  (and expansive) helvine crystals.

Nice material also from South Africa (Hausmannite, Sugilite and Mn minerals), from Malawi (a lot of aegirine, zircon and many more), from Namibia, where the Erongo site yield more schorl and aquamarine specimens even better than the one come to light durin the last years.

 This, of course, is not (and does not want to be) a complete description of the show and of its atmosphere.

Every visitor has to see the mineralientage its own point of view, drawing its own impression and ideas from it.

So the best you can do is to come next year.

Munich is quite easy to reach from Europeans location, and the connections and the  accommodations are excellent.

May be we’ll met in Munich next year

Auf Wiedersen