The British Micromount Society, of which I am a member, and also the webmaster, publishes three newsletters per year (usually). Apart from the latest six newsletters, all of the newsletters are available in the Newsletter Archive. They are all scanned pdf files, and there isn’t a way to search the archive for a particular subject. A contents index has been created (and includes issues 1 through 113). So better than nothing at all. But then I thought, why not create a Chat Bot for the newsletters. And I have now done so. All newsletters from 1 to 116 are included. The BMS Chat Bot can be found here. Give it a try. You will get “Hi there. I am the British Micromount Society Chat Bot. What can I assist you with today?” How about trying out some of the following prompts in response: What can you tell me about Penberthy Croft? What can you tell me about the Richard Barstow collection? Tell me about the Symposium. Just remember that The BMS Chat Bot may not necessarily always provide totally accurate or complete information because a) It’s an AI Chat Bot after all(!), and b) the quality of the source documentation (extraction of text (OCR) from scanned pdfs). Apologies in advance! Below: Torbernite, South Caradon Mine, St. Cleer, Cornwall. Width of view 2mm. Photo and specimen Tom Thomson. Featured on the front page of Newsletter 114.
Read MoreThe last missing newsletter, Issue 82, has now been added to the Newsletter Archive.
Read MoreIssues 73, 74, 75, 79, 80, 81 and 83 have now been uploaded. You can find them in the Newsletter Archive.
Read MoreTrevor Devon has kindly started the task of creating an index of articles, authors, minerals and photographs in BMS Newsletters. As at June 2021, the index has been completed for issues 1 to 8, and 85 to 112, and can be found here.
Read MoreSome of the missing newsletters have now been added. These are numbers 95, 101, 102, 103 and 104. You can find them in the Newsletter Archive. If anyone has a copy and the time and energy to scan the remaining missing ones and send them to me, that would be most appreciated. We are looking for numbers 72, 73, 74, 75, 79, 80, 81, 82 and 83.
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Check out the newsletter archive dating back to 1981. Most newsletters are available as pdfs. Lots of great information!
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A personal account by Steve Rust. Included in Newsletter 76. All photos are by Steve Rust. Featured image: Linarite from the Eaglebrook mine, Wales. Many collectors have fine micro examples of linarite in their collections, from a number of UK and world locations. It is easy to understand why. Who would not like to have in their collection a fine azure blue bladed radial micro-crystal group of linarite, contrasted against a background of white quartz. The known history of linarite has been traced back to at least the early 19th century. It would appear that James Sowerby was the first to publish a picture of linarite in his book of 1809, although he called it ‘Crystallized Blue Carbonate of Copper’. It would appear that the sulphate content of linarite was not recognized. It was not until 1839 that the species was given the name linarite by Professor Ernst Friedrich Glocker, from it’s type location at Linares, Jaen province, Andalusia, Spain. Linarite PbCu2+ (SO4)(OH)2 is usually found as thin bladed monoclinic crystals with little development of the prism faces; thick chunky crystals are also to be found. Colour is from light to deep azure blue. It usually occurs in lead and copper deposits, while this is true it is a very general statement. Linarite can also be found in many other ore deposits, which might have only small amounts of primary lead and copper minerals, from which linarite can form. In the United Kingdom some of the best macro examples of […]
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