As one of the closest natural history and geological museums to Morefield mine (about 36 miles away), Lora Robins Gallery has a limited number of mineral samples from the mine. This museum is at the University of Richmond, my alma mater.

 The following Morefield mine specimens were in their collections at my last visit, both in their exhibits, and in storage not normally visible to patrons. Please notice that the specimen names match those in the museum, not necessarily the newest names according to International nomenclature.

Specimen

Museum Inventory & Location in Collection

Source

# and/or Note

Photo ksw?

Albite (matrix, with Tantalite, Amazonite and Almandine)

 

Stevens collection

R1978.01.1693

Yes

Almandine (in Albite matrix, with Tantalite and Amazonite)

 

Stevens collection

R1978.01.1693

Yes

Amazonite (2 crystals)

Noted by Houle. Location:

Museum purchase

R1979.01.1934

Yes

Beryl var. Golden Beryl. Also known as Heliodor

 

Stevens collection

R1978.01.1707

 

Feldspar matrix, with Mica var. Zinnwaldite)

Noted by Houle. Location: In drawer in storage

A UR-sponsored trip to the mine

 

Yes

Prosopite

Location: Virginia Metalic (sic) Minerals

It is unaccessioned (it is in the collection yet has never been added to the UR Lora Robins database; you can tell, because the label has no number)..

Note: Why is this in a jar?

Prosopite is Not Radioactive. It is a 4-5 on the hardness scale, so it is not as soft as, say Talc and easily damaged. It is nonmagnetic.

Gift of Stanley Rudis, Richmond, VA**

Note: This specimen is in a glass jar.

Yes

Pyromorphite

Noted by Houle. Location: Matthew couldn’t find this, neither in the database nor in the Gallery

ACT: Check to see whether our key collectors have a sample of this to photograph.

   

No

Quartz var. Smoky Quartz

Location: Location: In drawer in storage

   

Yes

Tantalite Source - noted “Moorefield” (sic)

Noted by Houle. Location: Virginia Metalic (sic) minerals

Stevens, collection

R1978.01.1715

Yes

Topaz Source - noted “Moorefield” (sic)

Noted by Houle. Location: Virginia Non Metalic (sic) minerals

Museum purchase from Stevens collection

R1978.01.1704

Yes

Triplite (2 nuggets plus one larger in Albite / Quartz matrix with Amazonite)

Noted by Houle. Location: Location: In drawer in storage

A UR-sponsored trip to the mine

 

Yes

[insert my pix]

It should be noted that Lora Robins Gallery’s single largest collection from a Virginia mine comes from Rutherford #2, one of the mines from the Rutherford pegmatite, a few miles away from the Morefield pegmatite.

For more information, see https://museums.richmond.edu/

 

Bibliography

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