New Mexico Mineral Symposium — Abstracts

Mineral collectors today, whether we be miner, prospector, engineer, geologist, or just plain enthusiast, are actively involved in preserving a small part of our natural history whether we realize it or not. Although collecting has obviously taken the back seat behind the quest for ore, few who have been involved with minerals in one endeavor or another have not been moved to gather a cabinet of natures treasures. Just how long has this phenomena been going on? Perhaps since the first human bent to pick up a sky-blue or dense red stone and wondered from whence it came. Here in the area we currently call New Mexico, diligent research would doubtless reveal the Spanish collected copper minerals from the Santa Rita del Cobre some 200 years ago while documentary evidence currently on hand can take the reader/listener on an armchair journey spanning nearly 150 years to places with exotic names like Santo Domingo de las Calzadas, Mount Chalchiutl, and Pinos Altos as well as the others mentioned above. The journey exposes us to both heroes and villains of the past and reveals a brief glimpse into their daily lives. And whether miner, prospector, promoter, or nomad of the plains, a common thread runs among them; they were mineral collectors all.