BRAZIL.
According to A. S. Atkinsona
aquamarines have been mined at a number of localities in Brazil. Some
remarkable gems are obtained, and a few years ago one weighing nearly 6
pounds was found near Arassuahy. Records report a 15-pound green
aquamarine found in 1814. The best gems come from the island of Alegre
and are prized for their rich colors and brilliant luster.
CALAMINE.
MEXICO.
A
very beautiful variety of calamine, suitable for gem purposes, has been
brought to light by Charles II. Beers, of the Ysabelita Mining
Company, of San Pedro, Chihuahua, Mexico. Mr. Beers first noticed this
material in the possession of a Yaqui Indian, who placed it before his
shrine beside the cross and candle. The Indian informed him it was a
guard against sickness, accidents, etc., and a sign of success. Mr.
Beers obtained all the material possible from the Indian, amounting to
about 400 pounds in the rough, and learned that it probably came from
the Sabinal district near the Adventure mine, or perhaps in the Santo
Domingo region in-the Sierra Madre Mountains. The Indian was later
killed in a mine, so that at present the locality from which the
material was obtained is not definitely known.
The
calamine occurs in masses of gray, green, and blue colors, the blue
prevailing. The Indian's name for the blue calamine was " buena
fortuna." Specimens of the blue calamine, one a cabochon-cut gem kindly
furnished by Mr. Beers, consist of translucent material, with a curved
banded structure and fibrous or radial crystallization across the
banding. The banding is evidently due to calamine deposited from
solutions in mammillary layers of translucent blue and white colors.
The crystallization has been from a center outward in radial lines, and
gives a fibrous or silky appearance. Mr. Beers calls attention to the
resemblance of a section of this material to the rising sun and
believes this to be the cause of attraction for the Yaqui Indians. The
gem cut from this calamine is very pretty.
CALIFORNITE.
CALIFORNIA.
Collier
and Smith, of San Diego, CaL, report that about 2 tons of rough
californite was obtained at their mine on the South Fork of Indian
Creek, 10-1/2 miles from Happy Camp, Siskiyou County, Cal. None of this
material was disposed of during 1908. The good grades of californite or
jade—as it is sometimes called—are sold for about S50 a pound.
a Mining for gems in Brazil: Eng. and Min. Jour., June 19, 1909.
