Houston Gem and Mineral Show

The weekend after Denver is the Houston show. Some brave souls wrapped up in Denver and took their goods to Houston, so I got to say hello again. The Houston show is a club show put on by the Houston Gem and Mineral Society. It is very large for a club show. The Houston public is unusually sophisticated. Because of the energy business there are many folks with a geological background. They know minerals. I think Houston has the chance to expand and become an even more important mineral show in the future. Just for fun I posted this picture from a display at the show. The whole table was set up to look like banquet, with everything made out of minerals. Well, I hope my report was either helpful or interesting to you. Soon I’ll add some news on the mineral world here in Brazil. As always, feel free to contact me if you want to know more about minerals in Brazil or if you want to share your opinions.

Denver Gem and Mineral Show

It has been a while since my last post. I’ve been on the road a lot lately. In September I went to the Denver and the Houston gem and mineral shows. I’ll share with you my “take” on the two shows. It was my first time at both shows. I was very excited to go to Denver. It’s the most significant show in the USA after Tucson. The show is split up in 3 geographical locations. For dealers most of the action is at the Quality Inn (formerly Best Western) and the Holiday Inn. These two hotels are across the street from each other. The dealers display their goods in tents outside the hotel and in the suites inside. It’s very reminiscent of the way business is done in Tucson in the hotels off of Congress St. Most of the major dealers from Tucson are also in Denver, so I saw many friends and familiar faces. I guess the main difference between Denver and Tucson is Denver is much more concentrated. The biggest and strongest dealers in Tucson are spread out, a few anchoring each separate show. In Denver all the biggest players were just a few yards apart. I guess it’s good for the buyers, allowing them quickly compare prices and quality. Because the Denver show is so much shorter, that is important for the buyer. For the exhibitors, they have to be even more competitive. They benefit though from the shorter time frame. It keeps their operational costs down and buyers are less likely to lag in their decision making because time is short. After you leave these two hotels you may go the National Western Complex near the stock yards. It is an indoor venue, making the shopping experience a little more pleasant. They also have a large selection of dealers who are big Tucson names. It doesn’t get the foot traffic of the two hotel shows. The third location is around the Denver Merchandise Mart. That is where the main jewelry show is. Also, the club show of the Denver Gem and Mineral Society and the Fossil Expo are there. The DGMS show is more of a retail show. Lots of families and children go. It’s very different than the rest of the mineral show. Just outside the Merchandise Mart there is the Miner’s Co-op. It’s an interesting show because it is not organized by one of the big promoters. There are some interesting deals there and some unique material. I was glad I went to Denver. I never cease to be amazed at the minerals I see, and I always enjoy seeing the friends in the business I've made the last few years.

Picture 1- Denver Gem and Mineral Show

Picture 2 - Denver Expo 2007 at National Western Complex

Picture 3- Miner's Coopertive Mineral Show

Preparing the Geodes

The last two posts dealt with the way the geodes are removed from the mines. Today I will take you through the production process. When the miners remove the geode from the basalt they have to determine the value of the geode. To do this they drill a small hole in the geode. You can see these holes in the picture. After they make the hole they insert a bright light to evaluate the formation and color of the crystals. Based on this, a price per kilogram is established. The value of the geode is then divided 3 ways. A third goes to the miner who "dug up" the geode. A third goes to the owner of the land where the mine was. The final third goes to the person who financed the extraction process with his tools, explosives, electricity, transportation, etc. Sometimes this person is also the owner of the mine, sometimes not. After a price is determined the geode is taken to the "factory" where it is prepared for display. The hole is again used to observe the formation of the crystal and determine the best use of the geode. If the crystals are of exceptional size, color, and clarity than it will be used to make cut stones for jewelry. Otherwise they will be prepared for display. The geode is usually cut in half, along some line that allows any calcites or other interesting formations to be preserved and displayed. The most common way to display the geode is what is called a "capela."(example in the first picture) This is the Portuguese word for chapel. In the USA we call these "cathedrals." In a cathedral, the geode is cut in half with a diamond saw. The crystal lining of the inner walls of the geode are then visible. For the geode to stand up correctly, there is some cement placed on the base of the geode to make it flat. The exterior of the geode is painted a green/grey color in an attempt to match the original color of the exterior of the geode. Some geodes crack when they are sawed open, and others just don't look right as a cathedral. These are broken into pieces of various sizes (called "druza" in Brazil) and can be displayed on a wooden base or some other type of support structure. The limit to what can be done with these amethyst pieces is the imagination of the producer. I won't even try to start describing all I have seen. Perhaps in another post. Well, remember that if you want to know more or would like to witness the process yourself, please contact me. Just click on my blogger profile to find out how.

The Mining Process- Part II

The mining process continues with the digging of tunnels along the vain where geodes can be found. The process is not particularly high tech. Jackhammers, drills and gunpowder are your basic tools, with a hammer and chisel used to do the more precise work once you reach a geode. In one of the pictures you can see the "forking" of the tunnel. This occurs as the layout of the geodes seems to indicate greater productivity in a new direction. Sometimes a particular tunnel will be left alone for a while because it isn't producing many geodes, causing the operational costs to exceed the profits. If amethyst prices go up a previously "fallow" tunnel will start up again. One of the major costs in the production process is electricity. It takes some bright lights to see what you are doing in the mines. As energy costs go up so do the mining costs. In the other picture I am pointing at a gunpowder fuse. No explanation necessary as to what that is for. An interesting factoid about the mines is the fairly constant temperature. Regardless of the outside temperature its always around 65 degrees (16 Celsius) in the mines. In Rio Grande do Sul the weather can be a sweltering 102 (40 C)in the summer and a chilly 32 (0 C) in the winter. Well, that is pretty much it for mining. In a few days I will have a new post where I talk about the production process. Once an amethyst geode is found, how is it's value determined, what are some of the business decisions the miners must make, and how is the geode prepared for display will be addressed. Come back and visit me then. Also, remember that if you ever want to see the mines for yourself or come on a buying trip in Brazil I can help you. You can contact me on my website http://www.aksiaminerals.com/.

The Mining Process- Part I

If you read this blog you probably have some idea about how amethyst geodes are mined, but perhaps some of you do not. If you are a dealer, chances are your customers don't know much about the mining process. Feel free to steal my pictures and explanations. If you have a client email list, forward them a link to my blog. I think they will be grateful for the information. In this post I will talk about the amethyst mine. The world's largest amethyst ore is in southern Brazil, near the Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina state border. It is in an agricultural area of soy, and tobacco. As you can see from the photo, the mining process is horizontal rather than vertical. You dig across rather than down. The "digging" starts at the base of a hill and moves forward horizontally along a vane. The hillside is made mostly of basalt. At the entrance of the mines there is usually a large pile of broken basalt rocks. Once an entrance is made the vane can "fork" several times, depending on where there seem to be the most geodes in the basalt. In my next post I will tell you more about the process inside the mine, but I can't tell you everything now, I need you to come back in a few days to read the next post.

Exposol Part III- The Best Part

Of course what matters most to the mineral lovers out there are the special specimens available at the show. I am far from a great photographer. Often my photos don't do justice to the pieces, but I'll try to get better as time goes on. These are amazing specimens at the show I am sure you will love. Don't drool on your keyboards please.

The first picture in this post is of a set of stalactite formations in agate. It has great color and little micro crystals give it a special shine and reflectiveness. It was behind glass so I got too much glare from the flash.

The second picture is of an agate geode with a selenite crystal formation that grew inside it. The agate of the geode is polished. The colors are more earth tones, so the color doesn't catch your eye. The piece is also displayed poorly- sitting on the ground and not in a base. Displayed properly the incredibly rare selenite crystal would be more obvious, increasing the perceived value of the piece. There are a lot of pieces out there where selenite is glued on to a matrix of some sort, and others found naturally in an amethyst geode. This is the first I have ever seen in a agate geode. Very special.

The third picture is of a rose amethyst geode, polished on the outside. It's about 16 inches tall and 30 lbs. The color and shape are fantastic and incredibly rare. It was sold for U$6000.

The final picture speaks for itself. An agate slice pair, butterfly style. Great shape, color, and design. It will be a while before you will see another like this one.

Well, I hope you enjoyed checking these out as much as I did. Perhaps next year you can come to the Exposol and see for yourself. I'll be glad to help you make it happen.

Exposol Part II

Exposol is more than just a gem and mineral show. It is also a regional outlet for various business interests and a source of entertainment for the locals. Besides the gem and mineral booths, there are expos of various products you might expect to find in a county fair... tractors, horses, animal feed, musical acts, and of course lots of great junk food. Instead of a corny dog you can get a grilled beef/sausage/chicken heart sandwich, a Swiss crepe filled with cheese or some other filling, or chocolate covered strawberries on a stick.

As a major regional event, it is a place to see and be seen. The mineral buyers come early and get out of the way before Saturday when the commotion starts. On Saturday the governor of the state Mrs. Yeda Crusius came (in the second picture). She shook hands, kissed babies, and posed for pictures with the important business and political "bosses," as well as the queen and princesses of the fair.

Exposol- Latin Americas Biggest Gem and Mineral Fair

This is my first attempt at a blog. My website has still not left the “under construction” fase. I hope to get it there soon, but in the meantime I thought I would get some practice by starting a blog. Exposol was the perfect opportunity to get started. Exposol is Latin America’s largest gem and mineral fair. Minerals from all over Brazil are available, and it is a great time to find rare and extreme specimens. Buyers from all over the world come to find collector quality items. The fair however is just where the action starts. Soledade, the city that hosts the event, is in Rio Grande do Sul and is a major center for the Brazilian mineral business. There are dozens of companies that are involved in mining, production, jewelry design, and lapidating. There the business that starts at the fair gets fleshed out into bigger deals. I’ll soon post more pictures and tell you more about what happened at Exposol.