Steve Smale's papers


Steve Smale










Note: Group of wulfenite crystals from the San Francisco mine at Cerro Prieto, Magdalena, Mexico; 3 1/2 inches across.
Wulfenite is a tungsten mineral which comes in plates of bright colors: yellow, orange, red. The finest locations are in Mexico and Arizona. The San Francisco wulfenites were found in the 1970's, and this piece was obtained in 1973.









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Note: Polished nodule of varascite (green) with lesser amounts of minerals called crandalite and wardite; 3 1/2 inches across.
It comes from the Little Green Monster Mine of Fairfield, Utah and was purchased in France.
Varascite is phosphate mineral. Fairfield is the "classic" locality for varascite in that the finest specimens come from there and aare easily recognized among all varascites.








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Note: A paryte specimen from Randolf County, Illinois; 3 1/2 inches in diameter.
Pyrite, an iron sulphide, is a well-known mineral and is often referred to as "fool's gold".The illustrated example is called a "pyrite sun". One often sees pyrite crystals as cubes.
Nice specimens of pyrite can be obtained these days from Pery or Spain at quite reasonable prices.










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