"What's New!" A fluorescent minerals blog.

Today I have added 53 new specimens to the United States Showcase Page of my website. A description of a few of the small batches is provided below.

Miserite, Wollastonite, Fluorapatite, Arkansas – Several years ago I got a call from a big-time mineral dealer who told me he found a large amount of miserite in a barn in Arkansas. He asked if I was interested in purchasing the lot. In the past my only source of this material was from the stock of Tom Warren, so of course I went ahead and purchased a large amount. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to purchase the entire lot as some got sold to a dealer who was going to use the rough as cutting material (don’t you just hate when that happens?).

Miserite is a rare potassium calcium rare earth silicate. I believe that the Union Carbide Mine in Arkansas has been the largest producer of this material. Miserite fluoresces a bright creamy yellow under shortwave ultraviolet (UV) light. Along with the miserite can be wollastonite and fluorapatite. The wollastonite fluoresces an orangey yellow under midrange UV. The fluorapatite fluoresces a nice lavender under midrange UV. I was very lucky to be able to purchase these specimens as this material does not come on the market very often.

Sphalerite, Fluorite, Sweet Home Mine, Colorado – Over the years my good friends at Collector’s Edge Minerals (the owners of the Sweet Home Mine) have been putting aside good specimens of fluorescing sphalerite, fluorite and/or apatite for me. I was even invited to collect at the mine before it was closed in 2004. Some years later they re-opened the mine, developing another adit higher up the mountain, known as the Detroit City Portal. That new mine is now closed as well. Combinations of the orange fluorescing sphalerite along with the violet fluorescing fluorite can be very attractive. However, I find that the sphalerite fluoresces best when using a C8+ longwave LED flashlight. As a result, my photographs of these specimens were taken using one of these flashlights. I do have them for sale if anyone is interested.

Calcite, Hydrozincite, Glove Mine, Arizona – The Glove mine is a world-famous locality in Arizona for wulfenite. The mine has been under claim since 2011. A recent mine fire caused by Forest Service contractors has done significant damage to mine workings. The current claimants are working to repair the damage and clean up the mine area. These specimens contain red fluorescing calcite along with sky blue fluorescing hydrozincite, both best under shortwave UV.

Calcite, Cochise County, Arizona – These calcite specimens are from a recent find near the Tungsten Reef mine that a good friend of mine made a few years ago. I was lucky enough to be invited to see this locality and to collect several flats of the calcite. The calcite responds like typical humic acid activated calcite. It fluoresces creamy white under all three wavelengths with a bit of sustained luminescence. I remember several times during my many years selling at the Tucson show where walk in traffic people would say to me “hey, how come these are not fluorescing” (when pointing to creamy white fluorescing specimens). I would tell them that if they were not fluorescing, they would be black! I think there is kind of a reverse discrimination thing going on with white fluorescing mineral specimens. A lot of collectors don’t seem to want them. However, it is my opinion that no really good fluorescent display is complete without white or creamy white fluorescing specimens.

I will begin the photography soon for a new Worldwide Showcase update. This will include many nice specimens that I obtained during the recent Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. As always, those on my email list will be notified the moment these new specimens are uploaded to my site.

Mr. Thomas S. Warren in 1932 with the first field UV lamp

n 1932 a man named Thomas S. Warren (Mr. Tom as he was affectionally known by his friends), started a company called Ultraviolet Products, Inc.  The company later became UVP, Inc.  Mr. Tom and UVP, Inc., developed the first hand-held ultraviolet (UV) lamp for use in the field (see photograph above).  The use of field UV lamps exploded during World War II as prospectors began looking for scheelite, and ore of tungsten.  Tungsten was used to strengthen steel for the war effort.
 
As time passed, UVP, Inc. became the leading manufacturer of UV products.  UVP, Inc. was based in Upland, California.  Mr. Tom is also known as the Godfather of the fluorescent mineral hobby, having amassed a large warehouse full of fluorescent minerals behind the manufacturing buildings.  He sold them wholesale to dealers like me, as well as retail at mineral shows etc.
 
Mr. Tom was born in 1903 and passed away in 2001, at the young age of 98.  After he passed his son Paul took over the business.  UVP, Inc., continued on until 2013 when the business was bought by Analytik Jena, a German company.  Analytik Jena continued to manufacture all the same UV products that UVP, Inc. had in the past.  I have been a dealer of UVP, Inc. and Analytik Jena products since the late 1980s.  Those who surf my website may have seen the large number of UV products I sold for them.
 
On February 4, 2026 I was notified by Analytik Jena that they will no longer manufacturer the line of UV products designed by UVP, Inc.  After approximately 40 years of being a registered dealer for UVP, Inc., and Analytik Jena this news came as a bit of a shock.  It seems like Mr. Tom’s legacy of UVP, Inc. has finally come to an end.  I know for the old timers like me who knew Mr. Tom or who had been to his warehouse, this is bittersweet.  I just felt it was appropriate to let all my friends and customers know about this new development.  I will continue to keep my UVP, Inc. page on my website until such time as I am told there are no more lamps or viewing cabinets left in their inventory for me to sell.  Hang on to your old UVP, Inc. lamps, they may be collectors’ items someday!!
 
 
Sincerely,

George V. Polman, R.G.
Polman Minerals
 

Today I have added 46 new specimens to the Worldwide Showcase Page of my website.  A description of a few of the small batches is provided below.

Agrellite, Albite and Thorite, Kipawa Alkaline Complex, Temiscamingue County, Quebec, Canada – I had several requests to post more of these three-color combinations from the classic agrellite locality in Canada. Agrellite fluoresce best under midrange ultraviolet light but does still fluoresce under shortwave ultraviolet light as well. The red fluorescing albite and green fluorescing thorite fluoresce best under shortwave ultraviolet light so the specimens were photographed under shortwave.

Yttrofluorite, Innhavet, Drag, Nordland, Norway – I have had this material for many years. Yttrium activated fluorite tends to fluoresce a creamy yellow or cream color. These specimens are fairly rich and don’t come on the market often.

Sellaite, Fluorite, Fonsante Mine, Tanneron, Var, Provence-Alpes-Cote d’ Azur, France – I acquired a large batch of these specimens some years back. Sellaite is in the halide group of minerals, with a chemical formula of MgF2. Sellaite was first discovered at the Gebroulaz glacier, Val Thorens, Savoie, Rhone-Alpes France in 1868. The mineral was named for Quintino Sella who was an Italian mining engineer and mineralogist (1827-1884).

The Fonsante Mine is an old fluorite mine which has been closed since the 1970s. Very few quality specimens of sellaite have ever been found on the dumps at this mine, making the sellaite from this location very rare. Within the mine itself, the sellaite was found in a vein in a small section of the mine. The collector of this material found a portion of the vein that produced the sellaite and had collected this batch of specimens for me. Most of the specimens I have for sale also contain violet fluorescing fluorite, making for a nice two-color combination.

Hackmanite, Karnasurt Mountain, Lovozero Massif, Kola Peninsula, Russia – I purchased a large batch of these hackmanite specimens back in the 1990s. Many of them were highly tenebrescent (hence hackmanite as opposed to sodalite). Over the years I sold all the specimens that were visibly tenebrescent. The ones I have remaining are not visibly tenebrescent but may be again upon breaking of the specimen. Specimens from Kola are getting very hard to come by these days and I am glad I purchased this lot when I did.

Calcite, San Vicente Mine, Near Boquillas Del Carmen, Coahuila, Mexico – These specimens came out in abundance about 20 years ago (if I remember correctly). They are considered “Terlingua Type” and exhibit the same properties as the calcite from Terlingua, Texas. Under shortwave ultraviolet light the specimens fluoresce a nice blue color. Under longwave ultraviolet light they exhibit a nice color change to pink. They also have a very long duration sustained luminescence. As a result of these properties they have been very much in demand from the fluorescent mineral community. I have not seen these specimens for sale (wholesale) for many years now, so I am not sure of the status of the mine. Most of these specimens have been slightly acid dipped to remove lime scale, which is very common for this material.

Witherite, Calcite, Fluorite, Rampgill Mine, Nenthead, Cumbria, England – These fluorescent combinations are some of my favorites. The witherite from this locality can fluoresce white to yellow and exhibits sustained luminescence. The calcite can fluoresce pink to red and has been called barytocalcite from other dealers. I know with witherite present there is plenty of barium in the mix, but I don’t think this fluorescing pink to red material has actually be analytically identified to be barytocalcite rather than just calcite. If someone knows differently, please let me know. The specimens from this locality can also contain violet fluorescing fluorite which can make for a very aesthetic three-color specimen.

I will begin the photography soon for a new US Showcase update. As always, those on my email list will be notified the moment these new specimens are uploaded to my site.

Today I have added 43 new specimens to the United States Showcase Page of my website.  A description of a few of the small batches is provided below.

Calcite, Fluorite, Pure Potential Mine, Arizona – I mined this material in the early 2000s from a locality underground that was producing the very best fluorescing specimens at the time. Debbie and I spent an entire day hauling specimens to the surface (photographs in the photograph section of my website). It is important to note that this material is freshly mined and not weathered material that some dealers sell from the dumps. It is best under midrange ultraviolet light as the calcite is brighter red and the fluorite gets somewhat muted. Some specimens contain many aesthetic veins and can be some of the best midrange specimens available today. This mine is also known as the North Geronimo mine, but was the Pure Potential mine when I mined there.

Tremolite, Red/Pink Fluorescing Amphibole, Talcville, New York. In the past, mineral names such as tirodite, manganocummingtonite and anthophyllite were used to identify the red/pink fluorescing material along with the orange fluorescing tremolite. We are no longer using any of these mineral names as further research work is required to get an understanding of the true mineral identifications for these red/pink fluorescing amphiboles. Some specimens also contain fluorescing talc.

Scheelite. This batch contains several scheelite specimens from localities such as the classic Trumbull, Connecticut locality. Other localities include the Bonito Mine in Arizona, the Strawberry and Hi-Peak Mines in California and very rich specimens from a not so well-known locality called the Dunbar Property in Montana.

Benitoite, San Benito County, California – Several specimens of benitoite are provided on this update. These are not high-end white light specimens (as they can be very expensive) but are specimens just for the fluorescent mineral collector. All of the specimens have been sawcut on the back, which can be common.

I will begin the photography soon for a new Worldwide Showcase update. As always, those on my email list will be notified the moment these new specimens are uploaded to my site.

Today I have added 47 new specimens to the United States Showcase Page of my website.  A description of six of the small batches is provided below.

Willemite, Calcite, Fluorite from the Purple Passion Mine, Arizona – Over the years a lot of specimens have been mined from the Purple Passion mine in Arizona. As with most mines, the specimens tend to fall into three categories. I call them A-grade, B-grade and C-grade, with A-grade being the highest quality etc. I tend to try to collect and sell only A-grade specimens. It takes someone who has many years’ experience dealing with specimens from this mine to be able to ascertain the quality category for any one specimen.

Barite and calcite, Elk Creek, South Dakota – Known as a classic mineral locality, Collector’s Edge Minerals has been mining this area for years. Specimens produced contain some of the finest amber colored barite crystals on a matrix of golden yellow calcite crystals. Both minerals fluoresce. High end crystal specimens can fetch top dollar. The ones I sell are more for the fluorescent mineral collector, not for the high-end white light specimen collector.

Opal, Manhattan Mine, Napa, California – Many years ago I purchased a large quantity of this opal from an elderly man in California. I would have to go back deep into my records to remember his name, but unfortunately, he passed away shortly after my purchase. This opal is yellow in white light (very unusual and rare) and will fluoresce a bright yellow under all three wavelengths. Specimens that are gemmy yellow are more valuable than others. Some specimens contain a green fluorescent opal as well. I believe at this point I still have more of this material for sale than any other dealer.

Calcite, Fluorite, Pure Potential Mine, Arizona – I mined this material in the early 2000s from a locality underground that was producing the very best fluorescing specimens at the time. Debbie and I spent an entire day hauling specimens to the surface (photographs in the photograph section of my website). It is important to note that this material is freshly mined and not weathered material that some dealers sell from the dumps. It is best under midrange ultraviolet light as the calcite is brighter red and the fluorite gets somewhat muted. Some specimens contain many aesthetic veins and can be some of the best midrange specimens available today. This mine is also known as the North Geronimo mine, but was the Pure Potential mine when I mined there.

Scapolite, Valyermo, California – When I purchased a large portion of the sales stock of the late great Tom Warren at UVP, Inc., included in that purchase was a large supply of this scapolite. I think I have been the only dealer with this material for sale since. I am not sure if analysis has been done to determine which species in the scapolite group this is, but it has been labeled just scapolite for many many years. Fairly recently a good friend of mine finally, after much research, found the locality. He has told me that this scapolite is currently on private property in a guarded gated residential community and that the locals  are very touchy about unauthorized visitors. So, at this point I think it’s safe to say that the stock I have for sale could very well be all that will be available.

Hydrozincite, Fredrickson Mine, Nevada – In this batch I have included several nice hydrozincite specimens from the Fredrickson mine in Nevada. Most hydrozincite specimens you see are from the Yellow Pine mine which I collected at in 2018. These specimens from the Fredrickson mine contain some nice fine hydrozincite crystals and were collected down in the mine about 20 years ago.

With the summer coming to an end I have not had a chance yet to figure out what minerals to pull from my stock for the next Showcase. As always, those on my email list will be notified the moment these new specimens are uploaded to my site.

Today I have added 46 new specimens to the Franklin/Sterling Hill Showcase page of my website.  Some sample photographs are included above.  This batch is mainly less expensive pieces that I thought I would offer on my website. The batch includes six specimens containing esperite, multiple willemite and calcite’s and several multi-colored pieces.

I will soon be working on putting together specimens for a US Showcase update. As the Phoenix summer is getting quite hot, it may take me a bit to get them all together. As always, those on my email list will be notified the moment these new specimens are uploaded to my site.  

Today I have added 43 new specimens to the United States Showcase Page of my website.  A description of some of the small batches is provided below.

Wollastonite, Albite, Meta-Uranocircite? Rose Road, Pitcairn, New York – Over the years I have obtained several batches of this material. The fluorescent response of both the wollastonite and the albite is considered a medium brightness. However, over the years our ultraviolet lamps have been getting more and more powerful. As a result of that, plus the use now of shortwave UV LED flashlights, this material is becoming more attractive. The very first batch I purchased was in the early 1990s. At that time, the person I purchased the specimens from had told me that he had the green fluorescent mineral identified as meta-uranocircite. I do not know if that ID still stands today, or if more work has been done on the material. If anyone knows more about this ID, please let me know.

Sphalerite in Barite from North Carolina – In the late 1980s/early 1990s I was contacted by a/the guy who had discovered this material. I believe it was from a roadcut or some sort of construction cut. He told me he had at least 500 pounds of specimens and asked if I wanted to purchase it. Although at the time shipping was still not cheap, I decided to purchase the whole lot and had it shipped from North Carolina to Phoenix. I have been selling specimens from this locality ever since. The sphalerite fluoresces a bright orange under longwave ultraviolet light and is scattered in a barite matrix. It can also have sustained luminescence (aka phosphorescence).

Specimens from the Nellie James Mine in Arizona – I have provided today several nice specimens from the Nellie James mine in Arizona. These include a couple of nice fluorescent/phosphorescent sphalerite specimens as well as other multi-colored specimens containing willemite, calcite and hydrozincite. I wrote a paper on the Nellie James mine and it was published in the January/February 2022 issue of Rocks and Minerals magazine. I was asked by the publishers to try to sell back issues of each of the two fluorescent mineral special additions they published (the other was January/February 2021). I have each of these for sale if anyone is interested. Just let me know and I can provide pricing etc.

I am currently working on the photography for a batch of specimens for a Franklin/Sterling Hill Mine Showcase update. As always, those on my email list will be notified the moment these new specimens are uploaded to my site.

Today I have added 36 new specimens to the Worldwide Showcase Page of my website. 

This batch of 36 specimens consist of multi-colored calcite from Hidalgo, Mexico. This calcite locality was discovered approximately 2 years ago. I was able to obtain a few nice specimens just after they were collected while at the Tucson show. The specimens I offered for sale back then sold out very fast. At last year’s Tucson show the collector of this calcite did not bring any to the show. This past Tucson show the collector came to Tucson with a nice size batch. As a result, I was able to obtain a large amount of very fine specimens. I’m a big fan of this calcite due to the multi-colored UV response as well as the unique patterns in some of the specimens.

I am currently working on the photography for a batch of different specimens for a United States Showcase update. As always, those on my email list will be notified the moment these new specimens are uploaded to my site.

Today I have added 38 new specimens to the Horn Silver Mine Showcase Page of my website. 

For those of you who are new to my email list, please take the time to read about the history of the Horn Silver Mine, as well as the incredible story of how these specimens were collected.  When I purchased this amazing collection from Ethan Bunker, I promised him I would educate my customers on the mines history and what it took to collect these wonderful specimens.  I have left a lot of the SOLD specimens on the webpage so that new collectors could see some of the fluorescent variety found in this mine.

The sphalerite from the Horn Silver Mine has a long duration sustained luminescence (aka phosphorescence).  In some of the finer grained specimens you can literally write on the specimen with a 405nm violet light laser and watch it continue to luminesce!! The sphalerite is also triboluminescent. When a mineral is triboluminescent, a flash of light can be generated by friction, impact or breakage. I usually use an 8 or 10-penny spike to scratch the sphalerite in the dark.

I am currently photographing some very nice multi-colored calcite specimens from Hidalgo, Mexico. I hope to have it completed soon. As always, those on my email list will be notified the moment these new specimens are uploaded to my site. 

Today I have added 40 new specimens to the Worldwide Showcase Page of my website.  A description of some of the larger batches is provided below.

Ruby smelter slag from China – These ruby specimens are smelter slag produced at a chromium refining facility in china. The fluorescent response of these specimens is a brilliant, bright and beautiful ruby red. Unfortunately, digital cameras have a really hard time capturing this particular crimson or ruby red color. Since this is the first time, I have ever offered non-natural specimens for sale, you can take my word for it, they are beautiful!

Along with the ruby are brown crystals of most likely a mineral called diaoyudaoite. There is a strong suspicion that diaoyudaoite is only an industrial waste product and not a natural occurring mineral. Diaoyudaoite is known to fluoresce, but not in these specimens. It could be that iron is causing the brown color in the mineral and quash its ability to fluoresce.

Austinite from Mexico – Today I have added some nice specimens of austinite (some with calcite) from the Ojuela mine in Mapimi, Mexico. It is important to note that my Mexican connections have stated that full scale mining operations are once again to begin at the Ojuela mine, meaning that specimen mining may come to a halt.

The austinite fluoresces best under longwave ultraviolet light using a longwave LED flashlight. My photographs were taken using a Convoy C8+ longwave LED flashlight. I do have these flashlights for sale if you would like to purchase one. Austinite is often associated with adamite. In fact, in these specimens the austinite is associated with a non-fluorescing adamite.

Fluorite from Mexico – I was able to obtain some nice specimens of the unusual fluorite from the Ojuela mine in Mapimi, Mexico. These particular fluorite specimens fluoresce an intense red under longwave ultraviolet light. The response is best seen using a longwave LED flashlight. I believe the activator in these fluorite specimens is samarium. As mentioned above, we believe that full scale mining is to begin again at the Ojuela mine, causing specimen mining to possibly come to a halt.

Cerussite from Morocco – Cerussite specimens from Morocco seem to be getting harder and harder to come by. I have a Moroccan dealer friend who always tries to bring nice specimens for me to purchase during the Tucson show. This year he had a few for me so I decided to add them to this Worldwide Showcase. The fluorescent response of Moroccan cerussite varies. Some specimens fluoresce a very bright yellow and some hardly fluoresce at all. This particular batch fluoresce quite nicely. The specimens are also quite aesthetic in white light as well.

Chondrodite, Diopside and Calcite specimens from Canada – After conducting some research into the geology of Ontario, Canada, I was able to locate the Long Lake Zinc mine as a possible fluorescent mineral locality. That was in 1992, way before Mindat! In 1993 my good friend Corby Waste and I went on an 8-day collecting trip to Canada. One night we visited the Long Lake Zinc mine. It certainly appeared like my research paid off, as the mine site dump contained a wealth of marble specimens with multiple fluorescent minerals. Over the years since, I have sold many fluorescent specimens from this locality. They tend to have more of a pastel fluorescent response but can be very aesthetic with multiple colors and patterns.

Recently my friend Corby lost his home to the devastating fire in Altadena, California. I contacted him to make sure he knew that my wife Debbie and I have him in our thoughts and prayers and offered to help in any way that we could.