New Mexico Mineral Symposium — Abstracts

The Carlsbad potash district has long been known among New Mexico collectors for being the source of superbly colored blue and purple halite cleavage pieces, but until recently the knowledge of this occurrence was restricted to mostly local collectors. With the discovery of the “Blue Ice” seam in December of 2009, and the subsequent presentation at the 2010 New Mexico Mineral Symposium, the potash district started to gain acclaim among the collecting community outside of New Mexico as being a promising source of outstanding crystallized evaporite minerals. This distinction culminated in the discovery of the “Frozen Blue” seam in July of 2011 and the ultimate respect paid to the up-and-coming locality, the publication of a major article (37 pages) in the January/February 2013 issue of one of the leading mineral collecting journals in the world, the Mineralogical Record.

Since the original presentation in 2010, two more very significant discoveries have been made, and the need for an update on the new finds has been recognized. The most significant new halite find was locating the “Frozen Blue” seam at the Intrepid Potash East mine. Ultimately this seam has produced by far the largest quantity and many of the finest quality halite specimens to ever come from the potash district. Important dates and specimens collected spanning from the original discovery of the “Blue Ice” seam to the present date will be covered, with emphasis on the most recent work (July 2011 to present date). Many knowledgeable collectors and dealers have articulated that the halite from this discovery could very well be the world’s finest.

The title references the two major crystallized halite specimen producing seams at the Intrepid Potash East mine, but this reference spans only one of the significant finds. The other find of a lifetime was during July of 2011 at the Intrepid Potash West mine, but in this particular instance halite was not the object of appeal. Instead, aphthitalite, a sulfate mineral that was reported from the district (but only as microcrystals encountered in the milling process) was discovered in two open cavities within the 5^th ore zone. Details of the find will be covered in the presentation, but needless to say several dozen specimens were collected that rank as the world’s finest examples of the species.
A few more related topics will be presented such as field collecting strategies and observations, halite coloration theories, specimen preparation, and evaporite mineral curation. For a much more thorough exposé on the Carlsbad potash district and the discoveries made, please refer to the article in the January/February 2013 issue of the Mineralogical Record.

References:

1. Simmons, P. C., 2010, Blue Ice—Collecting halite and associated minerals from the Carlsbad Potash mines, 31^st Annual New Mexico Mineral Symposium, Socorro, New Mexico
2. Simmons, P. C., 2013, The Carlsbad Potash Basin, Carlsbad, New Mexico, Mineralogical Record v. 44, no.1, pp. 13–49.