Adamite (classic material)

Item Description

The historic Ojuela Mine in northeastern Durango, Mexico is one of the greatest mineral localities in the entire country. Nearly 150 different species have been found at this locality, and some of the finest piece ever found are the beautiful world-class Adamites. Certainly the best Adamite specimens from this mine are the greatest examples in history. The range of colors and styles seen from this mine, combined with the larger than average crystals and aggregates makes this mine one of the powerhouses for Adamite in the world. This particular piece was mined in the 1960s and was actually acquired by Bob Cook and Bob Carson (who were fraternity brothers of Gary Butts) who would make trips to Mexico and bring back specimens to resell. Gary's notes state that this piece was acquired at some point between 1964 and 1967. This small cabinet size piece features rather lustrous, sharp, well-formed, prismatic crystals with "wedge"-shaped terminations measuring up to about 1.0 cm long with a light yellow-green color, sitting on contrasting Limonite matrix. Some of the crystals are rather gemmy when backlit and look beautiful up close. Nearly all of the Adamites are undamaged. A very nice quality example dating back around 60 years ago, and a great example of what was coming out of Ojuela at the time.
From the collection of Gary and Terry Butts of Livermore, Colorado. This husband and wife collecting duo were childhood sweethearts, and have been together since they began dating as teenagers growing up in East Des Moines, Iowa in the 1950s. Both of them had an early interest in the hobby thanks to the fact that Terry's parents had a keen interest in lapidary, which sparked an interest in rocks for both of them. Gary and Terry were featured in an article in the Des Moines Register on Feb 4, 1962 (see photo in this listing) highlighting their interest and prowess in the hobby as youngsters. Gary traveled to various localities around the US as a teenager with his father (who worked in the tin industry), to personally collect specimens. He then attended the School of Mines in Golden, Colorado and graduated in 1967 with a degree in extractive metallurgical engineering. We went to work for Duval Corp at the Esperanza Mine south of Tucson, Arizona and then work for Cyprus Mines, Hazen Research, Pincock, Allen & Holt and the Colorado School of Mines Research Institute. His final job was in the mineral and environmental division of Intertek Testing Services of London, which owned the Canadian mineral testing company, Bonder Clegg. Gary's various jobs allowed him to travel the world and build his collection by buying a lot of specimens in person when they were coming out of the ground. Additionally, Terry's uncle was a miner in Creede, Colorado and later owned a rock shop which supplied Gary with specimens from the area. The specimens in this auction represent what Gary and Terry considered the "cream of the crop" of their collection.