Mineral Observer: Mineral News from Russia and beyond

Mineralogical Almanac, volume 10, 2006

Dear readers,

Our Mineralogical Almanac is ten years old now. Since 1996, when the first issue "Gold" appeared we have being providing you with the most interesting information on Russian mineralogy – famous mineral localities, museum and private collections, mineral growth theory. You might have noticed that localities are our main subject, and the reason for such a choice is quite evident: for many years there was a lack of information on hundreds of mineral localities of Russia and countries of former Soviet Union. We tried to make it accessible to wide public. It is necessary to admit that, though our authors are all hard working and knowledgeable persons, we are still at the beginning of a long way.

For ten years we produced our Almanac basing on modern technologies – high class mineral photography, digital image processing and top quality color printing. Though important conditions for producing of a good product, they would not guarantee positive result without a team of professionals: our industrious and always optimistic editor Ludmila Cheshko (Egorova); Nikolay Parlashkevich, art director; Yurii Ivanov, image computer processing artist; Natalia Vishnevskaya, computer graphics editor; Ekaterina Yakunina, advertising and promotion manager; Bronislav Norel, financial director; Michael Bogomolov and Natalia Pekova, associate photographers; Pat and Michael Gray and Art Soregaroli, style editors. For all these years we cooperate with translators Yulia Belovitskaya, Olga Ellanskaya, Mark Fed'kin, Il'ya Kubantzev, Alexander Yakubchuk, Victor Zubarev.

Over these years we met many friends all over the world. Among those whom we wish to mention the first are Marie and Terry Huizing. Their positive role in all aspects of Almanac life could hardly be overestimated. It would not be an exaggeration to say that we would never survive without their constant warm attention and heartiness. Powerful impulse we receive from cooperation with Russian Mineralogical Society headed by academician Dmitrii Rundqvist and Russian Geological Society (president Yurii Orlov). A permanent support we get from Lomonosov Moscow University authorities, museums directors and curators, professional mineralogists and amateur mineral collectors. All these gifted persons form a large family that create ideas for further investigations, research trips, new publications. We just grip and put some of them into practice. One of such ideas is implemented in this, the tenth volume of Mineralogical Almanac. We decided to shift from "one theme" format of MA to "multi theme", magazine-type format. That's why you will find in this issue not only traditional locality section (Sluydyanka), but a set of ten shorter articles, typical for magazines. This transformation does not mean that we stop special "locality" series. On the contrary, we plan to publish both simultaneously. A special issue, MA vol.11 will appear in Jan 2007, as well as vol. 10. It's title "New Minerals from Former Soviet Union countries, 1998-2006" by Igor Pekov. We hope you will find both issues useful and interesting. Though it is impossible to name all our friends in one list due to restricted volume of the issue, let us express gratitude and convey best wishes to our friends and colleagues.

Editorial	4

Konstantin Klopotov
Slyudyanka: a Brief Mineralogical Guide	6

Zoya Bessudnova
Nickolai Ivanovich Kokcharov, a Founder of Russian Mineralogy	34

Our Congratulations	46

Academician Nikolay P. Yushkin
The Fedorov's Museum	47

Academician Nikolay P. Yushkin
The Rocky Route of Pustozersk Ore Explorers: to the history of rock crystal search at the Polar Ural	56

Yevgeny Vapnik, Ella Sokol, Michail Murashko, Victor Sharygin
The Enigma of Hatrurim	68

Masterpieces of Mineralogical Collection
Elena Popova, Elena Svirina, Zhanna Polyarnaya
Jade Book	80

Boris Kantor
"…Of a Tree-like Appearance"	92

Terry Huizing
China 2006 – Minerals, Landscapes and People	92

New Finds	114

Peter Lyckberg
Munchen Mineralientage 2006 – This year's Mineralshows Highlights	116

Travel News
Sweden and Norway, 2006	122

Books review	66, 125

Advertisers	132