Fluorite from the CSM collection.

Camborne School of Mines at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show

Two members of the university are making the journey to Arizona, USA, to show off some of the highlights of the Camborne School of Mines (CSM) mineral collection at the invitation of the world’s largest mineral show.

The Tucson Gem and Mineral Show is taking place from 14 to 17 February 2013 and attracts about fifty thousand people. Peter Frost is the geology technician and curator at CSM and Edward Loye is a research student and mineral enthusiast.

Classic Cornish minerals are highly popular throughout the mineral collecting world because of the long history of Cornish mining. Specimens can change hands for many thousands of pounds. The Camborne School of Mines collection dates back 125 years and includes classic Cornish specimens such as liroconite, a mineral described originally from Cornwall, and ‘horse tooth’ siderite, a very rare type of siderite, not found since the early 1800s. There are also mineral specimens from around the world; many of which were donated by graduates working abroad to help with the teaching of mining engineering and geology. The display includes classic minerals from Saxony, Germany and, nearer to home, very rare gold from Cumbria.

The theme of this year’s Tucson Show is ‘Fluorite: colours of the rainbow’. There will be many fabulous specimens on display from the world’s top mineral museums including the Natural History Museum, London. The CSM display contains fluorite from Cornwall, plus recent pictures of CSM MSc students at a commercial fluorite mine in Namibia and a ‘catholuminescence’ image of fluorite from Edward Loye’s research project on formation of rare earth ore deposits.

Frances Wall (Head of CSM) said, "This is a unique opportunity to promote the university abroad. The Museum and its collection are a wonderful resource and we encourage use by students across the campus, as well as by amateur and professional geologists and local schools. I would like to thank the Camborne School of Mines Trust who have generously helped to fund travel to the USA."

Date: 12 February 2013

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