New Agates for the Museum

Usually I try to limit the number of new mineral specimens I purchase for the museum to one or two a year. That rule was thrown out the window at Moose Lake. I decided I needed to get a high quality example of a new agate from Brazil as well as some Argentina agates.

This nearly 12 pound agate from Brazil completely blew me away. It was found buried in the Jequitinhohna River in Minas Gerais, Brazil during the 1970s. Apparently the sands of the river are diamond bearing. After the agate eroded free of its host rock, it ended up in this river. The diamond bearing sands in the river naturally polished the agate.




Next are photos of the Argentina agates I purchased from Ana De Los Santos. They include a Condor Agate, Puma Agate, and Snow Agate.





The photographer for the book, Tom Shearer, and I traded some specimens. He gave me this outstanding Polyhedroid Agate from northern Brazil. Scientists think that these agates formed in voids between calcite crystals.



Finally, for you Grand Marais lovers here are a couple of shots of a sunset taken from the south side of Grand Marais Bay.