Gemhoard

We are dedicated to sourcing unique, top quality gemstones and minerals at fair prices.

11/27/2025

Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy 25% everything in store through this weekend!

04/03/2025

"Meteor shower" sunstone from Tanzania!
Feldspar and oxidized hematite come together to form this spectacular piece of natural art!

03/01/2025

Hemimorphite from the Republic of the Congo 18g.
Comment or DM to claim. International shipping!

02/26/2025

Veszelyite and hemimorphite on matrix from the Republic of the Congo.

02/22/2025

Smithsonite from Rep. of Congo. 407g.

Lapis calaminaris was a name used by Agricola in 1546. In 1747, Johan Gottschalk Wallerius (Vallerius) used the simplified form calamine for the zinc carbonate. In 1780, Torbern Bergmann analyzed calamines and found they were mixed ores of zinc carbonates and silicates. In 1803, James Smithson made a systematic investigation of calamines and showed that ores identified as calamine consisted of several different minerals: a carbonate and a silicate. The carbonate "calamine" was re-named smithsonite in 1832 by François Sulpice Beudant in honor of James Smithson [1754-1829], British chemist, mineralogist, and benefactor of the Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC, USA).

https://www.mindat.org/min-3688.html

02/21/2025

Spessartine garnet on matrix from Fujian, China. 153g
There is an 800 km long Cretaceous granitic belt exposed in the southeastern coast of China, it occurs from Guangdong through Fujian and extends to Zhejiang provinces. At this stage, many locations produce miarolitic cavities with different mineral specimens. There are over 20 different locations, and one-third of them have spessartine. Most of the miarolitic cavity minerals were exposed by granite mining. Tongbei village represents the first place where people do systematic mining of the specimen, which is actually illegal unless you mine for granite building materials. Labelling as Tongbei-Wushan Hill is OK, Tongbei is the name of the village and the Wushan actually means Wu mountain. Wushan is now a protected national park so collecting minerals from the exposed granite is prohibited. As for the “Yunling village” - there is no such place and the description in Ottens’ book should be wrong, caused by incorrect information. However several locations between Yunxiao and Suian (a location that Ottens describes as Yunling village) produce miarolitic minerals and they belong to the Jingangshan granite pluton, a similar-sized pluton to Wushan. It is complicated and there is no need to know because 99.9% of the spessartine-quartz specimens you can buy in the market came from Wushan pluton around Tongbei village.
Information given from the Nanjing University - https://www.mindat.org/loc-21240.html

02/20/2025

Baryte and Marcasite from Bou Nahas, Morocco 318g

"Copper deposits in the Oumjrane area were exploited in the Middle Ages and maybe even before. After that several mining operations were made during French colonial times, mostly in the early seventies. The most extensive exploitation took place in Bou N`has and South of Oumjrane (now abandoned). Ore was mined in quarries and shafts. It was then transported to a distant floatation plant located in Bou Skour. In the mid-70s, when the French left Morocco, all mining operations were stopped and abandoned.

In 2011, after several years of research, ONA Company re-started mining activity in the area. Over 3 years several small shafts were opened, a mining center was created and a floatation plant is under construction. Depth of the shafts reaches 120 m, and about 500 miners are working there recently."

Minerals of the Oumjrane-Bou N`has mining area, Morocco
by Tomasz Praszkier
https://www.spiriferminerals.com/170,Minerals-of-the-Oumjrane-area--Morocco--part-I.html

02/19/2025

Octahedral Pyrite from Huanzala Mine, Peru. 180g -

Huanzala Mine is a lead-zinc mine with a 1,200 tons/day capacity. Famous for excellent pyrite and fluorite specimens, Operated by Cia. Minera Santa Luisa, owned by Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co. (Japan).
Previously noted as in Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Province, Huánuco Department, Peru, but border has changed.
ref - https://www.mindat.org/loc-5783.html

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