The $8 million Hubert du Monmonier mineral collection opens to the public tomorrow (Feb 9) but a couple hundred members of the Tucson Gem & Mineral Society and other mineral devotees got a preview tonight at the UA Flandrau Science Center.
The collection is the centerpiece of the UA Mineral Museum. Terry Wallace, the former curator of the museum from 1984-2003, came in from Los Alamos to describe the
significance and brief history of the collection. [ above- Venezuelan gold; left- diopside; below- silver]Terry characterized the 870-piece collection as having four emphases: quartz (350 pieces), gold, silver, and beryls.
[below left - azurite, Bisbee mine; bottom left- tourmalines; bottom right - preview crowd]
