The Series

Mineral Research

Some minerals catch your eye before you know what you’re looking at. Mineral Research follows the rare specimens we come across, tracing their geology, where they were found, and the records that tell us how they reached collectors.

Close-up of turquoise ajoite inclusions inside a quartz crystal from the Messina district, South Africa

Latest research

Ajoite in Quartz and the Famous Blue Pockets of Messina

From the 1985 discovery at the No. 5 shaft to the specimens collectors call the Razor Pocket, the quartz of South Africa's Messina district preserved two rare blue copper minerals, sometimes inside the very same crystal.

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More from the series

Close-up of fine red hematite inclusions inside a strawberry quartz crystal from Chihuahua, Mexico

Inside Mexico's Rare Strawberry Quartz

Fine red inclusions give this historic material from Chihuahua its color. Specimen records tell us where it's been found, why intact crystals are scarce,...

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