Mexico fluorescent minerals

      The specimens shown at right are calcite from the Challenger Mine in Mexico.  The first two rows are a white calcite as shown in the first column in normal light.   Under long wave ultraviolet light, the specimens in the middle column fluoresce a light pink.  The photos in the far right column fluoresce a light blue under short wave ultraviolet light.  An added bonus to the specimens in the first two rows is that they phosphoresce for a short while after the lights are turned off.

     The second two rows are a yellow calcite from the same location.  The first column shows the specimens in normal lighting conditions to be a creamy white.  The middle column show the specimens fluorescing a milky opaque white under long wave ultraviolet light.  The specimens in the far right column show the specimens fluorescing a slightly brighter opaque white under short wave ultraviolet light.

     The third set of two rows are of Mexican fluorites from level 1 of the mine in Mapemi, Durango, Mexico.  This rare fluorite is one of the few fluorites which fluoresces red under long wave ultraviolet light.  Its fluorescence under short wave under my lighting system is too weak to photograph.  It may appear brighter under a stronger short wave system than I currently have.

     The fourth set of two rows are smithsonite from the El Refugio Mine in Choix, Sinaloa, Mexico.  Generally smithsonite does not fluoresce, but some of the specimens from this location do.  It fluoresces only under short wave.  The colors are pink, light blue, and green.  The green areas will phosphoresce for a short while after the lights are turned off in a dark room.  The phosphorescence is due to the fact that smithsonite is a zinc carbonate.  Willemite from New Jersey, USA has similar properties.

     Smithsonite gets its name from James Smithson, who was the illegitimate son of Hugh Smithson (a British nobel, the first Duke of Northumberland).  He was born James Lewis Macie, in France in 1765 and later adopted his father's name and became a naturalized British citizen.

     Smithson was very interested in chemistry and mineralogy and devoted much of his time to the qualitative analysis of minerals.  One of the most significant of his many papers regarding mineralogy was "A Chemical Analysis of Some Calamines."  He showed that calamine actually consists of two minerals, zinc oxide and zinc carbonate.  It is the zinc carbonate which was later named "smithsonite" in his honor.

     Smithson died on June 27, 1829 in Italy and was buried in Genoa.  He amassed a sizable fortune during his lifetime which eventually was given "to the United States of America, to found at Washington , under the name of Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge..".

       The next specimen at right is hemimorphite on smithsonite.  As you can see from the photos, the smithsonite on the bottom of the specimen does not fluoresce.  The mineral on the top of the specimen is hemimorphite, which fluoresces green under short wave ultraviolet light.  The image in the center is a light blue, but it is the long wave light reflecting off the white mineral and is not fluorescence.

       The next row of photos are of dog tooth calcites.  They are a typical honey yellow under normal lighting.  Under long wave lighting they are white to yellow.  Short wave ultraviolet lighting brings out a strong red-orange.  The base of the specimen is sphalerite and does not fluoresce.

       The pink fluorescing calcite at right is from the Los Remedios Mine in Guerrero, Mexico.  Under normal lighting the crystals are clear to milky white.  They fluoresce a lavender pink when exposed to long wave ultraviolet light.  Under short wave ultraviolet light it will fluoresce more of a reddish pink.

       The next two rows of specimens are fluorite on calcite from Santa Eulalia, Chihuahua, Mexico.  It fluoresces a white to light blue under long wave fluorescent light. and a red-orange to light pink under short wave ultraviolet light.  The areas which appear to be a white to very light pink under short wave are probably the calcite fluorescing through a very thin layer of fluorite.  The areas under both lighting conditions which  appear to be a darker blue to purple are the ultraviolet lights reflecting off the non-fluorescing quartz and matrix.

       The two rows of white crystals at right are selenite rose (gypsum) specimens from Samulavuca, Chihuahua, Mexico.  They are a clear white to tan color in normal lighting conditions.  They fluoresce best under long wave ultraviolet light, a bright creamy white.  They fluoresce a less bright creamy white under short wave ultraviolet lighting.

    

       The next two rows are Aragonite from Santa Eulalia, Chihuahua, Mexico.  It will fluoresce a light blue-white in some areas under long wave ultraviolet light, but most of what you see will be the reflection of the light off the non-fluorescing pure white areas of the specimen.  Under short wave ultraviolet light the better fluorescing areas will fluoresce a brilliant green.  These aragonite specimens make a great addition to your fluorescent display.

      

       Our next row is an adamite specimen from Mapimi, Durango, Mexico. The adamite in the specimen fluoresces a nice bright green under long wave ultraviolet light.  It fluoresces less brightly under short wave ultraviolet lighting.

      

       The next row is also a specimen from Mapimi, Durango, Mexico. The fluorescent minerals in the specimen are the adamite and hemimorphite.  The quartz does not fluoresce.  But due to its light color, it reflects the UV lights which give it a purple color under both lighting conditions.  The adamite fluoresces green under both long and short wave UV lighting and is brighter under long wave.  The hemimorphite fluoresces (green) only under short wave ultravioletighting.                                 

       The next row is a very nice specimen of "Poker chip" calcite from Charcas San Luis Petosi, Mexico.  The specimen fluoresces a nice reddish-pink under both long wave and short wave ultraviolet lighting.  The stronger response is under long wave.  Optimum performance would probably be under both forms of lighting at the same time.  Under normal lighting conditions the calcite crystals are a milky white.  Size details can be found in the fluorescent Mexico mineral page under calcites.

 




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